Round one in competitive sports usually features mismatches in most tournaments of 32. But in the Best of the Best series, round one is literally a celebrity death match. Each first round matchup in the Best Player of All Time series is literally star-studded. They are all studs at their positions, and their star statuses most times led to collegiate and pro football careers. However, this is the Best of the Best High School Player, so we’ll just highlight what they did here in Northeast Florida as Preps players on the gridiron.
Brandon James- ATH- St. Augustine
The St. Augustine Record named him “the most feared player with the ball in his hands in the past decade”. A runningback, wide receiver and kick returner all in one, Brandon James was the human joystick for the Yellow Jackets. He finished with 50 career touchdowns and enjoyed a 1,305-yard rushing season in 2005. With so many great athletes like RB Marcus Jones, QB/DB Jacques Rickerson, DB Rashard Hall and even the great QB/DB Willie Cooper to come out of St. Augustine, James might seem like an unlikely candidate to make our best of the best list. However James was the catalyst in leading St. Augustine to the Florida Class 3A state championship in 2005. That’s what seperated him from the rest. He was dangerous with the ball in his hands from anywhere on the field.
Frankie Franklin- RB- Sandalwood
Still to this day, there is only one man that is recognized as the original “Mr Footbal” for Jacksonville and Northeast Florida and that’s Frankie Franklin. Franklin won the state’s highest individual football honor in 1995 after leading the Sandalwood Saints to an undefeated regular season and the Class 6A state title game. In that season, Franklin rushed for 2,319 yards before being injured in a regional playoff game vs Winter Park. He would miss the state semifinal game against Orlando Evans, but returned on a gimpy knee in the title game vs Miami Northwestern where the Saints fell 12-7. He finished that season as the only runningback in the state of Florida to rush for 2,000 yards. For his career, he rushed for 5,471 yards. The ultimate mixture of speed, power, burst, Franklin was also named to the Florida Times Union Super 24.
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