Everyone knew the ball was going to Troy Franklin.

He knew it, his teammates knew it, the Wilcox players and coaching staff knew it, and everyone in the packed stands at Menlo-Atherton’s Coach Parks Field knew it.

In double coverage, with his team’s season on the line, he caught it anyway.

Moments like that game-tying eight-yard touchdown with 3:09 left in the Bears’ CCS Open Division Quarterfinal against Wilcox showed why the 6-foot-2 junior is among the top wide receivers not only in California, but in the entire nation, and why he’s been named Prep2Prep’s CCS Junior of the Year.

“When I went to a camp in Washington, they taught me a pretty good technique. It’s all about F.S.D., frisbee-snatching dog,” he said of the play. “Jump, hands, eyes and then snatch, bring it down. If you’re prepared for that, you can do anything.”

Over the course of his first three years at Menlo-Atherton, Franklin’s shown that he can indeed do anything. In just nine games, he had 43 catches for 674 yards and nine touchdowns, even against a schedule that included a trip to Utah, multiple nationally-ranked opponents and defenses doing everything they could to slow him down.

With 674 receiving yards as a junior to give him 1,790 over his first three years, he’s already become the best prep wide receiver in San Mateo County since Lynn Swann (Davante Adams played in Santa Clara County and Julian Edelman was a quarterback), and he’s even become a mentor to some of his younger teammates, including sophomore receiver Jalen Moss, who had a breakout sophomore year.

“With me being who I am, I really want to help guys so we can be the best we can,” he said. “I feel like it’s going to be pretty easy because it’s natural. I’ve just always had guys who were already leading the team like Daniel Heimuli and others, so I’m ready.”

Though he’s also tried his hand in the secondary and excelled while doing so, Franklin’s primary calling is at wide receiver, where he had another nine touchdowns in nine games this year. With his excellence at the position, he has more than his share of offers. He announced a top 11 on Nov. 25 but since receiving offers from Auburn, Cal, Florida and Ole Miss.

“Recruiting is going really well,” he said. “I’m just settling everything down, really focusing on the schools I’m interested in.”

He joined a handful of other top recruits at Cal’s junior day, meaning the Golden Bears are certainly on his radar alongside seven other Pac-12 foes.

Though he has one more year left of high school, when he gets to college, Franklin will surely give opposing coaches headaches at the next level, just like he’s done in high school.

“He’s one of the most special guys I’ve seen,” said Wilcox head coach Paul Rosa, who’s tried to gameplan for Franklin each of the last two years.” You don’t have people that can match up with him. You hope you get to the quarterback or he throws a bad ball because he’s not really coverable.”

Other players considered for this award include Half Moon Bay’s Tristan Hofmann, Burlingame’s Lucas Meredith and King’s Academy’s Noah Short