Kellen Francis can’t wait to play football in Champaign.
The 2023 Princeville graduate committed to Illinois on Saturday, choosing the Fighting Illini over scholarship offers from Arkansas, Houston, Texas State, Ohio State, Marshall and Eastern Illinois. He becomes the fourth Illinois offensive lineman to transfer for the 2024 season.
“It happened really quickly,” the 6-foot-5, 310-pound right tackle said, “so I don’t think it’s all figured out yet, but yeah, I’m really excited. I just want to go there. … I always wanted to play for Illinois.”
SEC, Big Ten and more: Growing List of Elite Scholarship Offers for Dunlap Football Player Mack Sutter
Francis spent the 2023 campaign at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas, playing offensive guard and was an All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference honorable mention. He changed positions during spring training after growing a few inches and gaining 10 pounds.
Much of the credit, according to the 2022 Lincoln Trail Conference leading lineman, goes to Butler strength and conditioning coach Kyle Woodall for helping him work harder to become bigger, stronger and faster. in the off-season. Additionally, during winter break, Francis spent countless hours at the gym, training with his brother, Jack Arnett.
“There was a big jump from my fall season to spring practice,” Francis said of his overall improvement, “so that’s what happened.”
His recruitment really took off after May 7, when he posted spring practice highlights on social media. EIU offered it two days later, with four more schools following suit in less than a week.
Just 10 days after his initial offer, Francis, who is the grandson of late Princeville coach Rollin Arnett, was in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on an official visit to the Razorbacks.
But his dream was to be an Illini.
“The visit to Arkansas was great,” Francis said, “so that stuck in my mind, but I knew quickly when we got to Champaign that I was going to commit there.
Everything from the football facilities to the weight room and training tables were huge selling points for him. He met with Tank Wright, the Director of Football Strength and Conditioning, and offline coach Bart Miller.
Francis, who plans to enroll next week, has no intention of redshirting and plans to immediately compete for a spot at any of the five offensive line positions.
Illini in the news: New ‘EA Sports College Football 25’ Trailer Shows Illinois Football Defeating Ohio State
“I want to get out there,” he said, “and learn the playbook and get as big and fast and strong as I can.”
Francis has one piece of advice for all the hungry small-school players who want to jump up the junior college ranks to play big-time college football: “As long as you keep that end goal in mind,” he said, “…if you really want to playing in Division I so it won’t be too difficult to stay motivated.”
Adam Duvall is a sports reporter for the Journal Star. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared in the Journal Star: Illinois football recruiting: Princeville juco lineman commits to Illini
