FAYETTEVILLE — Jerry Franklin stood at the lectern and spoke hesitantly, in clipped sentences.
It's not easy delivering an apology to an entire state.
Franklin, Arkansas' sophomore linebacker, delivered a public apology Wednesday in front of media members for his actions that led to two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and his ejection in last Saturday's 52-41 loss to No. 23 Georgia.
"I take full responsibility for both penalties," Franklin said.
The third-year sophomore from Marion was flagged once for pushing two Georgia players in the face mask, then he bumped into an official, leading to the second penalty and his ejection early in the second quarter with the Razorbacks leading 21-10.
"Pushing the players wasn't right, and bumping into the referee wasn't right," Franklin said. "I apologized to the officiating crew. I sent a letter to the chancellor and the officiating crew, both, apologizing about the incident, what happened.
"I hope to use this as something to learn from sothat it will never happen again."
Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said it was unlike Franklin to lose his control.
"It's not his nature to do that," Robinson said. "He's a very quiet, humble guy. ... He's a really good guy off the field and a fine football player on the field. He does everything he's supposed to do."
Franklin's teammates acknowledged his actions hurt the team, but they have remained supportive.
"He's been coming out working a whole lot harder," senior linebacker Wendel Davis said. "He feels like he kind of let us down by what he did, and he wants to go out and show he made a mistake and that he's ready to come help us win and get to the SEC championship."
Said safety Matt Harris: "In the big picture, when you see that scoreboard and seethose 50 points, Jerry Franklin knows he could have stopped a lot of those touchdowns - and win the ballgame."
On Monday, Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said Franklin would play Saturday against No. 3 Alabama, and any disciplinary actions "will be kept in-house."
Sports, Pages 24 on 09/24/2009