Syracuse, N.Y. -- Syracuse football head coach Dino Babers shared strong support for linebacker Zaire Franklin during an interview with Dan Dakich on 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis on Friday.

Franklin, who was drafted in the seventh round by the Colts, will be one of five rookie linebackers competing to bolster a young nucleus during training camp.

"The guy is absolutely solid as a rock and there is no way in hell he's getting cut," Babers said. "If there's odds in Vegas -- let me find out what the odds are -- you can't cut the kid. He's uncuttable."

Franklin inspired belief from coaches and peers long before leaving Central New York as the second-three time captain in Syracuse history. He's mature beyond his years, Babers said, and fits the mold of one of the two types of NFL players Babers sees.

There are freak athletes, like Lawrence Taylor, who possess outstanding athletic ability, Babers said. Then there are good athletes with high intelligence and toughness; players who perform consistently and rarely create distractions off the field.

That's Franklin, Babers said.

"It's like you're dealing with someone who's 40 years old and he's only 20 something," Babers said. "You meet him and you go, 'God dang it, which daughter can he marry?'"

It didn't take long for Babers to realize that he was inheriting a special player when he was hired by SU in December 2015. In almost every initial interaction with someone from the football program, Franklin's name was brought up.

Babers recalls being told by many that Franklin would be his defensive captain. So when he first met with the team, Babers called Franklin out by name.

"So I go to meet the team and I'm like, 'Who is Zaire? Zaire stand up.' Babers said. "He stands up.

"I'm like, 'Everybody tells me that your da da da, da da da, da da da. Let me tell you something. I'll decide who's going to be the damn team captain. It's not a damn popularity vote.'

"After about two weeks, he was the defensive team captain."

Franklin hopes to make a similar first impression in Indianapolis, which begins rookie minicamp on May 11. He believes the Colts are a good fit as they run a 4-3 defense with some similarities to the Tampa-2 scheme he ran as an upperclassman with the Orange.

Stephen Bailey covers Syracuse football for The Post-Standard/Syracuse.com. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can also be reached anytime via email.