“I started (kicking barefoot) when I was 15 years old,” said Franklin. “I tried one day with a shoe on and I could kick the ball 35 yards, but I wasn’t very accurate. So I said, ‘I wonder what would happen if I took my shoe off?’ and I started kicking them 50 yards and was a lot more accurate.
“You have to understand, I grew up in Texas and we played football year-round. In the summertime it was so hot and because we always had a lot of grass and it was very lush, we just played barefoot.