Quarterback Feleipe Franks limped into the middle of the locker room on his crutches after Florida’s victory against Kentucky. Coach Dan Mullen had the redshirt junior break the team down before leaving Lexington, Kentucky.

Holding back tears, the QB who dislocated his ankle in the third quarter of the game and was done for the season.“[Treat] every play like it’s your last," Franks told the team. "I don’t have any regrets because I know I’m going to go hard every play for y’all boys. I love y’all boys.”

That Monday, he showed up to the team meeting when he didn’t have to, even though his season over.

The following Saturday before Florida faced Tennessee, he sat on his one-leg scooter and snapped balls to now-starter Kyle Trask and Emory Jones when he didn’t have to, even though his season over.

Even now that he doesn’t have to, even though his season is over, Franks is a leader on this football team. Florida is lucky to have him on its football team.

The guy has been booed by his own crowd. The guy has been benched four times in his career. The guy got crucified by national media for looking at a camera and saying “I do this, so stop playing with me.” The guy has been through hell.

It just seems like no matter how bad it gets for this guy, no matter how many blows he takes, he won’t hit the canvas. Whenever his days in Gainesville are finished, he’ll be about as battered and bruised as anyone who has ever gone through the program.

But dammit, he’ll be standing.

That’s why he’s the perfect leader for this team. That’s why whatever nonsense Kirk Herbstreit or a Barstool Sports podcast wants to say about him doesn’t matter. This team does need him now.

In the month of October and two days into November, the Gators play one team that’s debatably more talented than them in Auburn, and two teams not debatably more talented in LSU and Georgia.

I can guarantee UF will get the football equivalent of a right hook to the jaw at some point in all three of those contests. I guarantee the Gators will be told they are just simply not good enough to compete with these teams and national media and fans will pick against them.

Florida needs a leader that knows exactly what that feels like. Florida needs a leader that can have a worst-case football scenario happen to him and still help his team in any possible way. That guy is No. 13.