By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

Between his older brother, Ron, and two sons that also played at Baylor, James Francis has been connected with the university for the last 33 years.

And actually, it goes back a lot longer than that.

"My mom passed away when we were real young," James said. "But before she passed, she went down to the Salvation Army to get us winter hats. And she came home one day with a Dallas Cowboys hat and a Baylor hat. Now, back then, we had no idea what Baylor was. I was 7 at the time. We thought it was maybe a man's name or some kind of store. It just goes to show you that she knew what her sons' destiny was going to be."

Following in his brother's footsteps - Ron was a two-time All-Southwest Conference cornerback for the Bears - James amassed 334 career tackles in his four-year career at Baylor (1986-89) and earned first-team All-America honors in 1989 when he set an NCAA single-season record with eight blocked kicks.

"I tell everybody, if we had the offense they have now to go with the defense my senior year, nobody would be able to stay on the field with us," said James, who will be honored as a "Baylor Legend" during Saturday's game against West Virginia. "We had a great group of guys, we just couldn't get over the hump. We couldn't put points on the board. If we could have averaged 17 points a game, we could have beat anybody."

That '89 season ended in the most bizarre way. After losing 6-3 at home to Rice, the Bears blew out Texas, 50-7, for their first win in Austin in 38 years. Safety Robert Blackmon returned two of his three interceptions for touchdowns, and James had 14 stops and another pick as the defense held UT to just 208 yards.

"It just shows you that anything can happen," James said. "We hadn't beaten Texas in 38 years down there, and we just had one of those games where everything was going right for us. Blackmon had a great game, I had a good game, the defense had a good , and the offense put some points on the board in the second half. It was the final game of my college career, so it was a great feeling to go out a winner. I have friendships with a bunch of those guys that still exist today."

As a senior, few players if any were more dominant than Francis. From his strongside linebacker spot, he had 129 tackles, 12 stops behind the line, four interceptions, three fumble recoveries and the eight blocked kicks.

And yet, what he remembers is teammate Gary Joe Kinne being "the best linebacker in the country, to me."

"We had a lot of guys that didn't go on to the next level," he said, "but they were great college football players."

Inducted into the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001, Francis was actually a two-sport star for the Bears. He was a valuable sub on basketball teams that went to the NIT in 1987 and the NCAA Tournament in '88.

Drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 12th pick overall in 1990, he had 33 ½ sacks, 11 interceptions and three touchdowns in a 10-year NFL career that included nine seasons with the Bengals and his last with the Washington Redskins in 1999.

"Losing wears on you," said Francis, who had just one winning season in Cincinnati. "We were a couple plays away from the AFC championship game my rookie season. But after that, man, it was tough. By year six, year seven, it drains on you. . . . I could have played longer. I just didn't have that desire to do it anymore. I retired when I was 30. I was mentally done with that lifestyle, and I was just ready to move on."

Now living in Round Rock, Texas, James is involved in the CoachUp program that gives prospects one-on-one training. "My goal is to open up a little linebacker school," he said.

"I'm looking to maybe get into coaching, but I'm not at that point right now where I want to be in the office 24-7," he said. "I'm getting to spend time with my grandchildren, and I'm liking that."

His sons, James Jr. and Chris, both played at Baylor, with Chris starting 11 games as a senior middle linebacker and finishing second on the team with 72 tackles.

"I didn't get to experience any of that plush stuff they have now," said James, who left the year before the Bears moved into the new lockers in the north end zone complex at Floyd Casey Stadium. "The new stadium is beautiful. I've been there, but I haven't been to a game in there. This will be my first real tour of it."