Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks still held some resentment towards Gators fans after they erupted in applause when backup Kyle Trask came into the game against Missouri last week for the redshirt sophomore. Franks made sure to let his hard feelings known to the home crowd on Saturday not just once, but twice.
The first shushing came after Franks tied the game at 14 with a 10-yard touchdown run. The move almost backfired as South Carolina would score 17 unanswered points and go back up on Florida 31-14 more than halfway through the third quarter. But Franks would lead a Gators scoring run of his own, which he punctuated with a one-yard touchdown run that became the game-winning score. He shushed the crowd again in his celebration.
After the game, he chalked up the two shushes to his emotional and competitive nature, and apologized for the move.
“Maybe that’s something that I shouldn’t have did. But at the same time, I’m an emotional player I want to win as much as anybody in the world. I’m a competitive guy, I’m an emotional guy and that’s just the way I play my game. So I do apologize for that.”
Even coach Dan Mullen, while not entirely supportive of his quarterback’s actions, was at least understanding of his sentiments.
As is the case with most cocky or crowd-taunting celebrations, the most important thing for the player is to back up their actions in the game. Franks probably didn’t save himself from any more criticism for the remainder of the season, but he’s certainly shushed his doubters for the time being.