Kellen Francis playing for Saluki program he rooted for as a kid
- Tom Weber
- Apr 14
- 4 min read
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Kellen Francis, the newest addition to the offensive line for Southern Illinois, grew up watching Saluki Football games. So even though the Illinois transfer had FBS offers after entering the portal in January, he wanted to follow his father’s footsteps and play for the FCS team he rooted for as a kid.
“Southern just felt right,” Francis explained. “I knew my dad was a good player here and I would have big shoes to fill football-wise, and SIU is a great program that plays in the best FCS conference. I also want to be around people that I like and coaches that I respect, and I have so much respect for Coach (Nick) Hill and (offensive line) Coach (Dan) Clark.”
His father, Mark Francis (1988-91), was a two-time all-conference offensive lineman at SIU and accompanied Kellen on his recruiting visit.
“It was really cool for him to be back on campus,” Francis said. “He’s always followed SIU. It was a big deal for the family to come back when they played the last game at McAndrew Stadium. He took us to see SIU play at U of I (in 2013).”
Ironically, Francis will make a return trip to Illinois on Sept. 19 for a matchup against his former teammates.
“I’m still very thankful for my time there, the friendships, and I had a ton of respect for my coaching staff,” he said. “I just felt like I needed to go somewhere new to reach my full potential.”
Francis described himself as a late-bloomer, who was not highly recruited out of Princeville High School, located just north of Peoria.
“I was only 5'8 as a freshman, so I didn't really get any attention until right before my senior year after I shot up a little bit,” Francis said. “I put a highlight tape out at the end of my senior year. I got some Division II offers, but my goal was always to play Division I football.”
To reach the D-I level, Francis first needed to prove himself at a junior college, which is exactly what he did in one season at prestigious Butler Community College in 2023. Soon, he had high-major offers.
“It happened really fast,” Francis said. “The only two visits I went on were Arkansas and Illinois, but U of I was the easy choice being less than two hours away from home.”
Francis arrived at Illinois in 2024 with a lingering ankle injury.
“What I thought was just a sprained ankle turned out to be a detached ligament that required a surgery,” he explained. “I wasn’t cleared to play until Week 7 of that season, but I was able to make the travel roster that week, so that was a big deal for me.”
After playing three games at Illinois in 2025, Francis found a home at Southern Illinois, where he has been the team’s starting left guard throughout spring ball. When you watch SIU practice, Francis’ aggressive style of play jumps out.
“I always want to play to the echo of the whistle,” he said. “There's no reason to come out and play offensive line if you are just playing to get in people's way. I like to be the aggressor.”
Francis said he’s impressed with the talent level of his teammates.
“Between our first-string D-line and a really good crop of linebackers who I go against every day, they've really pushed me to get better,” he said.
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