Tyler Fromer won’t be around to enjoy any success the Franklin football team experiences in future seasons.
Nonetheless, the example he sets as a Grizzly Cubs senior is one of the cornerstones to the program that first-year coach Chris Coll is attempting to build.
Fromer, a 6-foot-1, 188-pound testament to the benefits of second, third and fourth effort, is the team’s second-leading rusher with 435 yards and five touchdowns.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
He’s also caught 14 passes for 146 yards and a score and gained 54 yards on returns.
His statistics, though, don’t tell the entire story.
“Tyler is what every coach wants. He practices like he plays on Friday night and sets an example for the other kids,” said Coll, who inherited a program that hasn’t experienced a winning season since 1996. “He has good speed and is very physical.
“He’s a lead-by-example type for us, but does have good verbal leadership. The kids feed off the fact he’s a hammer. He just keeps bringing it. First and foremost, it’s his heart and effort. Tyler is a relentless type of player.”
Such a mentality comes naturally. As a center on his seventh-grade football team, Fromer was making blocks before he was following them. He later moved to halfback and then fullback in the previous coaching regime’s flexbone triple option offense.
“I always wanted to play running back, but I didn’t get a chance until eighth grade,” Fromer said.
He credits his mom, Kelly, for his tough-mindedness on the gridiron.
“She always pushed me when I was little,” he said. “I didn’t even want to play football when I was younger, but she told me to go out there and try my best. I ended up loving it. Our record doesn’t show it, but I definitely feel we’ve gotten better. I really think this season has brought us together.”
Franklin averaged 2.8 wins per season in the decade prior to Coll being hired.
The coach’s message to every Grizzly Cubs player all season has been to believe in the process and understand that the dedication currently being demonstrated will result in more victories in the future.
Coll is especially complimentary of Fromer and the other seniors on the roster.
“I feel for them that they haven’t experienced more wins, because they are a very good group of football players,” Coll said.
Fromer is helping grow the program in many ways, whether it’s carrying the football, throwing a block or encouraging a younger, less experienced teammate.
“I think it’s really cool to be able to help establish a foundation,” he said. “I think it will be worth it later on to see the Franklin program grow and to be able to say you helped start that.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Tyler Fromer bio” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
THE FROMER FILE
Name: Tyler Fromer
Age: 17
Born: Indianapolis
Family: Mother Kelly; brothers Kyle and Cameron
Favorite TV show: “Rick and Morty”
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite movie: “Taken”
Favorite athlete: Chris Johnson
Favorite team: Tennessee Titans
[sc:pullout-text-end]
