Troy Franklin’s freshman campaign announced his presence on the football field as a prolific wide receiver, starting with a yard performance against Bellarmine and continuing as he established himself as one of the Bay Area’s best receivers. As a sophomore, he proved that his abilities are truly limitless.

He even missed the first two games of his second year at Menlo-Atherton, sitting out against Bellarmine due to an ankle injury and then missing the game against Mitty after an allergic reaction to — believe it or not — a bagel.

The late start wouldn’t stop him from becoming one of the top sophomores in the entire state of California, and he’s considered by many, including local history buff John Horgan, to be the best receiver San Mateo County has seen since Lynn Swann.

“We knew as a freshman he had a chance to be one of the best players around,” said head coach Adhir Ravipati. “Now it’s just about making sure Troy doesn’t get too caught up in the hype.”

There’s no shortage of reasons for the hype surrounding the elite wide receiver, who has already garnered offers from Alabama, Oregon and a host of other programs. He played a critical role in M-A’s remarkable run to the CCS Open Division I title and the CIF Division 3-AA State Championship, taking the reins during a memorable three-game stretch.

It’s rare for one player to completely dominate a play, but that’s exactly what Franklin did with the decisive touchdown of the CCS win over Wilcox. Taking a toss play out of the backfield, Franklin reversed the field after seeing three missed blocks, juked a defender, broke a tackle from another and raced into the end zone to cap off a 21-point comeback.

With injuries causing the Bears to use four different quarterbacks over the course of the season, Franklin was used in a running back position at times and even took snaps out of the wildcat formation in the state championship win over Lincoln-San Diego. Of his 13 carries, four went for touchdowns, including a 70-yard run that served as the winning score in a NorCal championship win over Eureka .

“There were times when he wasn’t getting the ball much, and we just had to get it in his hands,” said Ravipati.

The 13 carries went along with his 25 catches on the season, which he made despite constant double-teams. Those catches included a 50-yard touchdown to tie up the state championship game after a long Lincoln TD and two touchdown receptions in that win over Eureka. After the Loggers had scored on their opening drive, he immediately scored on a 69-yard pass and would add a 14-yard score before the end of the first.

With a section and state title already under his belt, Franklin has already accomplished more than most high schoolers could ever dream of, and he still has two years left. So what’s next?

“We plan on using him more on defense next year,” said Ravipati. “He’ll probably be starting in our secondary.”

With so many talented defensive backs, it’s not like M-A was in desperate need of his presence on the field for defense, but when he was out there, it certainly didn’t hurt. In a 30-8 win over Terra Nova, he had two interceptions after hauling in a 50-yard score. The first was a diving catch in the end zone, and the second, off a tipped pass, turned into a 99-yard pick six. He totaled those two interceptions and 10 tackles on the year to go with his 531 receiving yards, 236 rush yards and 89 return yards, which came across 12 games, including three lopsided wins that ended with a running clock.

For his efforts throughout the season, we are pleased to recognize Troy Franklin as the Prep2Prep Central Coast Section Sophomore of the Year.

Others players considered for this award include Burlingame’s Lucas Meredith, Half Moon Bay’s Tristan Hofmann, King’s Academy’s Noah Short, Live Oak’s Caleb Ojeda, Menlo-Atherton’s Skyler Thomas, Sacred Heart Cathedral’s Cian Dowling, Sacred Heart Prep’s Raymond Price III and St. Ignatius’ Siaki Hunkin.