Dennis Franklin Dennis Franklin ( born August 24 , 1953 ) is a former professional American football player who was drafted by the Detroit Lions of the National Football League ( NFL ) in the 1975 NFL Draft . Prior to playing for in the NFL he played quarterback of the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1971 - 1974 . He served as the starting quarterback from 1972 - 1974 . He was recruited by Michigan after starring for the Massillon High School football team in Ohio . Franklin is known as Michigan ’ s first black quarterback . High school . Before attending the University of Michigan , Franklin drew attention as the talented quarterback of the 1970 Massillon High School Tigers football team . With Franklin at quarterback , the Massillon Tigers outscored opponents , 412 - 29 , and rushed for nearly 3 , 000 yards ( including 363 yards by Franklin ) in one season . Franklin also passed for 699 yards , 21 . 2 yards per completion and 13 touchdown s . The team was blessed with major college football talent . He ran an offense that played eight future Division I college players including Steve Luke ( Ohio State Buckeyes ) , Larry Harper ( Miami Redskins , now RedHawks ) , Mike Mauger ( Wisconsin Badgers , Kent State Golden Flashes ) and Willie Spencer ( World Football League ) . Franklin ' s older brothers , Walter and Ed , had won state championships with Massillon . In July 2007 , he was inducted into the Stark County High School Football Hall of Fame . College . After graduating from Massillon , Franklin wore # 9 for the Michigan Wolverines football program from 1972 to 1974 , and he became known as " Michigan ' s first black quarterback " in mass media : " Every time I ' d do an interview , they ' d throw that tag on me . It became annoying , " Franklin said . " Eventually , it went away . That ' s all I ever strived for . " He was a member of the Michigan teams coached by Bo Schembechler from 1971 – 1974 and was the starting quarterback from 1972 - 1974 . Under Franklin ’ s leadership at quarterback , Michigan tied with Ohio State for three consecutive Big Ten titles from 1972 to 1974 and finished with 30 wins , 2 losses and 1 tie . Franklin was a First Team All Big Ten quarterback in 1974 and led the team in passing and total offense every year from 1972 to 1974 , becoming the second player at Michigan since Tom Harmon to accomplish that feat for three consecutive years . Franklin was voted team captain in 1974 , was an Honorable Mention All American and finished sixth in the 1974 Heisman Trophy balloting . Franklin also won the 1974 Meyer Morton award , given by the M Club of Chicago for the football player show shows the greatest development and most promise as a result of spring practice and the 1972 John Maulbetsch Award , which is given to the freshman football candidate after spring practice on the basis of desire , character , capacity for leadership and future success both on and off the gridiron . Franklin is remembered for his role in the classic 1973 Michigan vs . Ohio State football game . When the teams met , both teams were unbeaten with Ohio State ranked No . 1 , and Michigan No . 4 . Michigan had outscored its opponents 320 - 58 , Ohio State by a margin of 361 - 33 . After an epic struggle , the game ended in a 10 - 10 tie . Ohio State had gone to the Rose Bowl the year before , which normally would have given Michigan the tie - breaker edge . After some deliberation , the Big Ten athletic directors picked the Buckeyes . There were several explanations including that Franklin broke his collarbone in the game , that the Wolverines failed to win on their home field , and that Ohio State had entered the game as the higher ranked team . Professional career . Drafted by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 1975 NFL Draft , Franklin converted to wide receiver for the 1975 NFL season . While Franklin was with Detroit , Greg Landry and Bill Munson were the Lions ' quarterbacks . Franklin had a brief NFL career that lasted nine games and that totaled six catches over two years . After retiring from football , Franklin rose to vice president at King World Productions in New York City , a television distributor that produced " Wheel of Fortune " , " Jeopardy ! " , and " Oprah " . He now lives in Santa Monica , California and sells real estate . Franklin ' s son Kenny followed his father to Michigan and has aspired toward acting with appearances in " Cosmopolitan " and " S . W . A . T . " .