Costabile: 3 ways Benjie Franklin will impact 111th Grey Cup

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Any time Benjie Franklin has stepped on a CFL field, he’s made plays.

We’ve seen it all season long, as the Toronto Argonauts’ boundary corner played a huge role in helping to get his team to the 111th Grey Cup.

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The 28-year-old suited up in just a single contest in 2023 after signing with the Argos in September of that year. It was in Week 21, with Toronto already locked into first in the East and many starters resting.

Franklin used that opportunity to put everyone on notice. He finished the day with an interception on Dustin Crum, a deflection off of linebacker Jonathan Jones‘ hands that he hauled in for the pick. Franklin also amassed four tackles and a fumble recovery in the Argos’ regular season finale.

“In that moment, when I got out there, the game kind of sped up for me, and it was like, ‘Man, this is really happening.'” Franklin reminisced about his first start on Wednesday, sitting in his media day booth, one of his team’s obligations during Grey Cup Week.

“But once I think I caught that first one, that first interception, (I thought) ‘okay, settle down, I’m all good.’ When I first got (the interception), it was really exciting for the team. I think when I had picked up that fumble recovery too, I was kind of doing well, just being able to be around the ball and just moving fast.”

After a brief stint in the UFL this off-season, Franklin returned to Toronto before training camp and earned a starting spot in the team’s secondary. And since then, he’s done nothing but make plays just like he did to end the season last year.

With the 111th Grey Cup on the line, Franklin should make an impact in the big game. Here are three ways how.

BIG PLAYS IN BIG GAMES

Franklin was a game-changer for Toronto in both the Semi-Final and the Final, taking interceptions back for touchdowns in each one.

It started in the Eastern Semi-Final against the Ottawa REDBLACKS, when Franklin got his hands on a Dru Brown pass late in the game and ran it into the end zone to add a punctuation mark to his team’s score in the fourth quarter.

“When I first got that pick-six, it was just like, “oh, man, I’ve been waiting for this moment because it felt like at one point, I should have been having them before,” said Franklin, remembering the first of his two defensive scores. “So at that time it happened, I was like, ‘okay, okay, there we go. I got my mojo back.'”

The cornerback, who moved from the field side to boundary in Week 5 and said that’s when he really started to feel the game slow down for him, carried that mojo into the next week. When Toronto headed to Montreal to take on the Alouettes in the Eastern Final, he was the one to open the scoring for the Argos with a pick-six on Cody Fajardo in the first quarter.

I had to, of course, ask, will you get another on Sunday? He smiled, “yeah, most definitely, man.”

We’ll see if his premonition comes true and scores his third pick-six of the post-season in the biggest contest yet when he goes against Zach Collaros, who despite throwing 15 interceptions this season, has only had two since Week 14.

PASS KNOCKDOWNS

Getting an interception is great. That’s obvious. Ask any defensive back about their goals for their season and I can almost guarantee that a certain number of picks is on their list.

But the six-foot, 172-pounder’s ability to impact the game goes beyond just interceptions, of which he had two in the regular season. He’s also a master at disrupting the passing game with his knack for knocking down passes. He was best in the CFL at doing just that this year, tallying a league-high 13 knockdowns.

“It’s definitely a see-ball, get-ball type of thing,” Franklin said when asked about his ability to break up passes. “Anytime the ball is in the air towards your side, your eyes get big. You want to make that big play to give a boost to your offence and give them great field position. I think anytime the ball is in the air, you do whatever you’re going to do to get that ball out of receivers hands.

“I had a great job doing that,” he continued. “But at the same time, you definitely want to turn those passes into an interception. So that’s kind of been like my thing every time I see the ball in the air, try to make a play on it and come down with it at any cost.”

With playmakers all over the Winnipeg receiving corps, led by Kenny Lawler, who went off for 177 yards and three touchdowns in the Western Final last weekend, Ontaria Wilson and Nic Demski, Franklin will need to make sure he’s getting his hands on the football to keep them from moving the chains.

VERSATILE AS THEY COME

There isn’t a lot that Franklin can’t do.

Along with picking off passes or knocking them down, Franklin has made an impact in a number of other ways on the Argos’s defence (and special teams).

He forced three fumbles and recovered another three to go along with his 59 tackles. According to Pro Football Focus, he is second in forced incompletions (15) through the regular season and playoffs, second only to Winnipeg’s Tyrell Ford (19).

He’s also been around the line of scrimmage, working inside the box on blitzes or defending the run and tallied two tackles for a loss and a sack. The 28-year-old is also tied for second in stops (14) with linebackers Cameron Judge and Jameer Thurman, only trailing his teammate, middle linebacker Wynton McManis (17).

Franklin made plays on special teams too, tallying a pair of tackles and he blocked a point-after kick against Ottawa.

With his ability to impact every facet of the game, whether it's picking off passes, knocking down throws, or making crucial tackles,  Franklin will be one of the Argonauts' most relied-upon players as they chase their second Grey Cup in three years.