GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- For all the criticism of Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks, his teammates sure seem to understand his plight and have his back, even if there are still mistakes along the way.

After Saturday night's game against Miami, one reporter asked Franks if after he threw his second interception of the fourth quarter he thought to himself "Oooh, I probably shouldn't have thrown that."

Franks somewhat defensively pointed out that he was run into as he threw. He wasn't trying to throw an interception, he was trying to throw the ball out of bounds over Kyle Pitts' head. There was an ever-so-slight hint in Franks' voice of an 'are you kidding me, did you watch the play?' tone.

But it wasn't just Franks who seemed to feel that way.

As he said it, defensive end Jonathan Greenard began slightly shaking his head, breaking out in a very visible grin as his eyes looked back and forth at the front end of the table he and Franks were seated at. On Franks' left, receiver Joshua Hammond also cracked a smile.

This is nothing new for Franks. Win, lose or bye week, Franks seems to get the same intense level of scrutiny. It must feel like he can never do anything right at times, despite the fact that his last three games include wins over rivals Florida State and Miami and a talented Michigan team in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl.

Throw in some celebrations like a punt into the stands after the game and a little talking to the camera after the game-winning touchdown run and anyone looking for something to gripe about had more than enough following the season opener. His teammates? This is nothing new for them. Again, doesn't seem to bother them at all.

"I love the celebrations, it makes him who he is," receiver Trevon Grimes said. "If everybody seen him on the field, off the field, in the house like I see him, you'll know. He means no harm. It's just who he is and what he loves to do. He's passionate about the game, so I love his celebrations.

"One of my favorite ones personally is his famous shush the crowd one. I love that because people don't understand, he goes through so much stuff. He goes through so much criticism. And he still has to go out there and play in front of 80,000 fans. So it's a lot of pressure, and when he shows that he can do what everyone thinks he can't, it’s a pride-filling presence. It's just like ‘that's my quarterback’ and I get to I get to brag about that. So, I really I like his celebrations and I look forward to them every game."

Don't expect them to stop any time soon.

Say what you will about Franks -- he seems to be acutely aware of what's said about him in the media and on social media platforms and be affected by it at times -- but he certainly seems to be leaning into it more of late.

Publicly, he said he was fueled a bit by embracing that heel type role when he shushed the crowd in a comeback win over South Carolina in 2018. He apologized for that, but the mentality that went into it doesn't seem to have changed.

"I don’t need anybody’s approval," Franks said. "I’m myself, I’m my own person. At the end of the day, that’s what makes me who I am. People inside this building know who I am, know what kind of person I am. Humble. Try to be the best teammate I can be, always put the team first. I’m a passionate player. I love to win. Winning is my No. 1 goal and we won, we got the job done. We won."

That was the theme from Franks following the Miami game. Um, hey guys, we won the game.

Still, many wonder about whether this is sustainable from Franks. If he's getting this much critical attention his way following a win over a quality opponent, will he last when a loss inevitably comes? Let's face it, Florida probably isn't deep enough for this squad to run the table.

Franks theoretically has said he's distanced himself from social media. He hopes that insulation makes him a better quarterback.

"I don’t know," he said, asked about the fan reaction after the Miami game. "I’m worried about the team here and the coaches here. I’m worried about the team and the coaches and winning games. I’m not worried about anything outside of that."

Yet there he was on Twitter late Saturday night to Sunday morning retweeting takes about everything he's had to deal with in terms of pressure and scrutiny. That in and of itself isn't proof he isn't letting what's said out there just roll off his back, but it's at least eyebrow-raising for a guy who said he doesn't look at all that stuff anymore.

It's not that Franks thinks he's perfect, either. He just seems to believe that people are missing the forest for the trees.

"There are things you can clean up," he said. "There’s things that everybody can clean up. At the end of the day, we got a win. That’s the most important thing."

Perhaps even more important? Even if some chunk of his own fanbase, whatever percentage it may be, or the media and the pundits out there don't think Franks is the best option or that his so-called antics are tired, his teammates don't seem to share that view.

At the very least, you have to appreciate the unity.

"I don't know if you’ve seen, but after he scored his touchdown sneak, almost the whole team ran over there and jumped on him and grabbed him up," Grimes said. "It's just fun to see. Because like I said, he goes through a lot of criticism. So it's amazing to see that he can overcome that and still perform his daily routine and come out victorious."