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In each of the past few years, more and more members of the roster end up remaining in the city once the season’s over, and now they have a quarterback to train with on a daily basis.

“If I go back to the States, I’m not going to be able to throw to anyone on the team,” Franklin said. “Here, the Canadians stay here year-round, most of them. And even some guys from the States, they stay here, too.

“Just getting a chance to work with them and build relationships, because one of the things I’ve learned growing up is the better the relationship that you have, the better chemistry you’ll have as a team. It means more for the team morale.”

And it doesn’t hurt that he’s working with young, aspiring local athletes during weekly clinics at Anytime Fitness and Playmaker U, either.

“I do some coaching, some training and some motivational speaking, just trying to help the kids that are younger have a good example, hopefully,” said Franklin, who is also involved in the Champions in the Community program with the club. “That’s one thing I noticed growing up, is it was hard to find athletes who gave back as far as being a good example. It was moreso about them.

“It’s changed a lot, and a lot of guys now are coaching and doing things to help the younger kids.”

But not a lot of them are pro quarterbacks. Or head coaches, for that matter, though Kavis Reed was another recent example here in Edmonton.

“Any time you’re involved in the community year-round, you’re showing commitment to the organization,” said Maas, who recently moved his family back to Sherwood Park after being named Eskimos head coach in December. “We have some of the best facilities to actually work out in across the country. The one thing you’re not able to do generally is go outside during the winter, but we have an indoor practice facility that’s second to none and you can get a lot of work done as a quarterback.