For the Rams’ Johnathan Franklin, success comes from an identity outside of football

Everywhere Johnathan Franklin walked, someone offered him a hug. It was homecoming at Dorsey High’s football field, and Franklin was being treated like his nickname, “The Mayor.” Teachers, coaches, ex-teammates — they all greeted him with open arms.

Franklin is the neighborhood kid who made good. He grew up a short walk from Dorsey, became an All-City running back, got a scholarship to UCLA, was drafted in the fourth round by the Green Bay Packers, then had to retire in 2014 because of a spinal contusion.

“It’s been a journey,” he said. “When I first got hurt, it was rough. But now I look back and see how much a blessing it was. I’ve always known I wanted to become great regardless what that was.”

He worked for the Packers, then for the University of Notre Dame before returning home last month to work for the Rams in community outreach and external affairs. If anyone can become an emissary bringing together the Rams and communities around Southern California, it’s Franklin.

“It’s a great opportunity to be back in Los Angeles,” he said. “It’s returning to a city I’m passionate about and truly love. Los Angeles is a power city with many opportunities but also have struggled with a few things. LA Live is awesome, The Forum, the future stadium . . . but there are small pockets in the inner city that have been overlooked. That’s on the educational and athletic side, and hopefully I can have an opportunity to impact those areas.”

The Rams have vowed to become partners with communities in Southern California, and one of their first contributions is a donation of more than 40,000 items to the Los Angeles Unified School District in the form of footballs, shirts, shorts, sandals, cleats and jerseys that will be distributed to 67 teams at the end of the football season.

UCLA running back Jonathan Franklin beats the Stanford defense for a 51-yard touchdown run on Nov. 30, 2012.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times )

“We’ve been having listening tours and understanding the landscape of Los Angeles,” Franklin said.

Franklin understands the dreams and hopes of high school football players in Los Angeles. He has seen the best and worst of football and is the ideal example of how everyone needs a Plan B in case the unexpected happens.

“Football was pretty much my whole life as I saw it in the neighborhood, something to get to me out,” he said. “But I had to really take a step back and ask myself, ‘Is football who I am or am I Johnathan Franklin, the person who believes that he can be successful?’ I was able to look at myself outside of just a football player.”

He said football is an opportunity to make relationships, meet people and create networks to help after a football career ends.

“Don’t walk into a room that you’re better than everyone,” he said. “Walk into a room getting to know people, because everyone you meet makes up this great world. You have opportunities from playing football using that as a platform to connect with people.”

Franklin walked onto the field at Rancho Cienega Park before Dorsey played Hawkins and reflected on his life. He turned 27 on Oct. 23.

“Oh man, this is home,” he said. “This gave me an opportunity to see something outside of negativity in my life growing up in South Central. A lot of my friends weren’t doing too many great things. This right here at Jackie Robinson Stadium was my escape to get outside of that and believe dreams are possible, that if I focus and work as hard as I can, I can actually become something.”