2027 Power 5 prospect Hakim Frampton excited to play prep career in Arkansas
The start of the new year is somewhat of a homecoming for Hakim Frampton.
For about the first three years of his life, Frampton lived part-time in Arkansas. Over a decade later, he has returned to The Natural State and enrolled at Joe T. Robinson as he looks forward to continuing his prep football career under the lights at Charlie George Stadium.
Frampton, 5-11, 150, is a rising 2027 prospect who played his freshman season at Buena Park in Southern California off of Interstate 5 between Los Angeles and Anaheim. He started both ways for the Coyotes, as well as returned punts.
He finished the season with 20 receptions for 247 yards, an average of 12.4 yards per catch, and 2 touchdowns. Defensively, Frampton logged 22 tackles, forced a fumble, batted down two passes and nabbed an interception.
At just 15 years old, Frampton has multiple Division I offers that include Arizona, BYU, Florida A&M, Georgia Southern, Indiana, Oregon State, Temple, UNLV, Utah, Washington State, along with Auburn, which was his first.
"It put such a big smile on my face (to get the offer), I was not expecting it," Frampton said. "It was not even a subject at that time. My dad just sent me a text message and said you have been offered. I ran around the house and talked to my family, just such a blessing."
Frampton's father, Dwayne, was a highly productive wide receiver for Arkansas State, first under Steve Roberts along with current Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze, who served as Roberts' offensive coordinator in 2010 before being promoted to head coach of the Rebels prior the the 2011 season.
Hakim Frampton was born prior to his dad's arrival in Jonesboro, when Dwayne was playing at Los Angeles Harbor (Calif.) College in the JUCO ranks. When Dwayne joined the Red Wolves, Hakim went back and fourth from California with his mother to Arkansas until Dwayne moved back to California after suffering an injury prior to his senior season with the Red Wolves in 2012.
Once Dwayne returned home to the West Coast, the game of football was introduced to Hakim.
"(Age) three was when I really started training," Hakim said.
As he continued to grow, Dwayne introduced age-appropriate workouts and training methods to Hakim.
"(I would) run around the park and run around in the sand, doing stuff with my legs to get me acclimated with football," Frampton said.
Dwayne Frampton during his playing days at Arkansas State admiring a very young Hakim. (Photo submitted)
As if being a starter at the varsity level as a ninth grader was not impressive enough, Frampton did not even play football his eighth grade year as he made the decision to put his full focus on training.
Along with starting at wide receiver and defensive back for Buena Park this past season, Hakim returned punts for the Coyotes, another area of the game he has put in countless hours honing his craft.
"My dad would throw the ball really high and he would teach me how to run under a basket on the basketball court and catch the ball," Frampton said. "Every year I have played football I have been back doing punt returns. Last year I did not get a lot of action because they did not kick it my way that much. I heard Arkansas has some good punters, so I am ready for that."
He does not prefer one position over another, but getting experience at multiple spots has helped keep Frampton well-rounded.
"It is just all about balancing what I do," Frampton said. "Say I start with DB at a training session, then I will go over with receivers, then at the end I do punt returns.
"I just want to be greater than great at all of them."
Having experience at both wide receiver and defensive back helps Frampton understand more on what his opposition is doing or is about to do. Frampton also credited another training method for being immensely beneficial to his growth.
"I do jiu-jitsu and I box, so when I am a DB I use a jab to knock off the timing," Frampton said. "That all really helps a lot."
One of the key reasons Frampton chose to come to Robinson is to play in the secondary with his cousin, Jakob Coleman, a senior-to-be for the Senators who also came to Little Rock from The Golden State. Coleman led Robinson with five interceptions logged 37 tackles, including 24 solo, batted down two passes and recovered two fumbles for the Senators in 2023.
"I just want to play with Jakob because he is older than me, so like in AAU we never had the opportunity to play with each other," Frampton said. "This is our opportunity to go shine."
While some may question Frampton's desire to leave the high school football prestige of Southern California, he just wants to experience more than the West Coast.
"I have been in California for so long and just want a different atmosphere," Frampton said. "I have some SEC and East Coast offers, so I just want to go get acclimated because I may go to college closer to that area."
2023 was not a standard season for Robinson, who played a plethora of freshmen and sophomores, as the Senators fell in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
Frampton feels with all he took from his freshman year that he can add a lot of production for a Robinson squad that expects to be back in the state championship conversation again in 2024.
"Last year was about gaining my confidence since I spent my eighth grade year training with my dad," Frampton said. "I am just going to go out there, try to ball out and do the things I can to make plays for my team."
(Cover photo submitted)
– Kyle Sutherland | @k_sutherlandAR
