The dead period for football recruiting ends Thursday night opening up a two and a half week sprint to the February 5th signing date for the 2020 class. And there’s also a lot of work ongoing for the 2021 class and this weekend USC will entertain a few of its top junior targets. One of those is 4-star RB Thaddius Franklin (6-0 195) of Hollywood, FL.

Franklin said he and his father will arrive at USC on Friday and stay thru Sunday. It will be his first visit with the Gamecocks and he wants to see and learn as much as he can about the program. He’s being recruited by running backs coach Thomas Brown and the two already have a pretty tight relationship.

“I have a relationship with coach Brown because he offered me when he was at Miami, so we’ve been in touch since he left,” Franklin said. “He likes everything, my vision, the way I run thru contact, my feet in the open field and the way I break away. We just have a connection.”

Franklin is rated the #11 running back in the country for 2021 in the 247Sports composite, and the #25 prospect in Florida. He’s a former Miami commitment who went back on the market December 9th.

Along with USC and Miami, Franklin also has offers from Virginia Tech, Arkansas, West Virginia, Baylor, LSU, Tennessee, Syracuse, Minnesota, Maryland, Purdue, Auburn, Georgia, Ohio State, Florida, Florida State, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State and Michigan.

“I’m not really focused on a school right now,” Franklin said. “I just want to explore options so I can pick the best choice for me.”

Franklin only went to Miami for games this season. Along with this weekend’s visit to USC, he’s also looking at visits to Kentucky January 25th and to Florida the weekend after that. He plans to sign in December but he will not be an early graduate.

This season Franklin rushed for 2282 yards and 28 touchdowns averaging nearly 8 yards per carry. As a sophomore he rushed for 1602 yards and 14 touchdowns.