One day recently, Zaire Franklin was surveying the Indianapolis Colts locker room, team meetings and practice facility. He came to a startling realization: There’s really not that many people here.

The number of players on the roster had dwindled to 53. Franklin said this week that he made the roster because he’d showcased to the Colts coaching staff the type of skill and leadership he brought to Syracuse. Orange head coach Dino Babers said during preseason camp that Franklin is “uncuttable.”

The former three-year starter graduated in December 2017, then began to set his sights on making the 53-man roster. He worked his way up the depth chart since OTAs, before debuting last Sunday in the Colts loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Franklin recorded one tackle, wearing jersey No. 44, a legendary number at his alma mater — SU.

“This is for real. The air just felt different,” Franklin recalled from his debut. “After that, it’s still just football. It was nerve-wracking, but I knew I would be good. I showcased who I am and I had a really good feeling about making the team.”

Franklin visited Syracuse about two weeks ago to clear his mind and wish his former teammates well as they began the 2018 season. While he’s rooted in North Philadelphia, Franklin said he found comfort in visiting SU before his NFL debut. It established him as an anchor of the Orange defense, and he became known as an integral force in the SU locker room.

How he got to the Colts traces to his time at SU, where he grew up early, about one year removed from the deaths of his mother and grandmother. He is an only child, a trait that he said enabled him to channel independent thinking that translated onto the field. The linebacker was Syracuse’s first three-time captain in 121 years, calling 6 a.m. linebackers meetings and creating contracts for players to sign acknowledging they would abstain from drugs.

He didn’t miss a single game in his career, starting his final 39 games at middle linebacker and picking up 311 career tackles — the most for an SU player since 2006. Before the 2018 NFL Draft, he ran a 4.58-second 40-yard dash and completed 30 bench press repetitions, more than any linebacker at the NFL Scouting Combine — to which he didn’t receive an invite.

Colts area scout Michael Derice was impressed by one play in particular, according to Colts.com. At North Carolina State last September, Franklin chased down fellow Colts draft pick Nyheim Hines — the fastest running back in the entire 2018 NFL Draft class.

“Hines broke out on a long run, and he flipped his hips, turned and caught Hines from behind,” Derice told Colts.com. “And then the kid (Franklin) ended up running a 4.55 (-second 40-yard dash) at the pro day, and it made sense, you know?”

In April, Franklin was drafted by the Colts in the seventh round (235th overall).

“You have to ignore all of the noise,” Franklin told The Daily Orange. “There are a lot of things people will say. Rankings, pre-draft stuff, the NFL Combine. I didn’t make any all-star games or get big hype and I still got drafted. A lot of people drafted before me didn’t even make the (Colts). There are guys all around from big schools, Notre Dame, Clemson. You just have to put your head down and know who you are.”

Franklin’s first and only career tackle came on a punt. For now, he enjoys living in the Indianapolis metro area. He has recalibrated his diet, cutting out all junk food and fast food. Instead, he opts for a lot of vegetables. He hasn’t recorded a segment for his ‘Cuse TV show, “Z60,” since last season, though he said the question-and-answer skit could someday return in a different format.

“I need to make a couple of more plays before I work on something like that,” he joked. “I just need to keep working.”

Published on September 14, 2018 at 7:39 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21