Franks attended Shawnee High School, where he was the 2004 New Jersey High School Player of the Year, a NSCAA/adidas High School All-American and a two-time NSCAA/adidas Youth All-American, and played club soccer for Medford Speed and the PDA Conquistadors.
He played college soccer at Wake Forest University from 2005 to 2008, appearing in 93 games for them in this period. In his senior year he had 3 goals and 11 assists. He compiled 7 goals and 20 assists over his four years, appeared in three college cups and won the 2007 national championship.
During his college years Franks also played for both the Ocean City Barons[1] and Carolina Dynamo[2] in the USL Premier Development League. In 2003, as a member of the Barons, Franks became the youngest player in club history to score a goal at 16 years and 262 days old. On June 14, 2003, Franks scored a goal in a 5–2 home win over the Worcester Kings in the 79th minute.[3]
