Illinois
How a football recruiting whirlwind landed this Princeville lineman at Illinois
Kellen Francis can’t wait to play football in Champaign.
The 2023 Princeville grad committed to join Illinois on Saturday, choosing the Fighting Illini over scholarship offers from Arkansas, Houston, Texas State, Ohio, Marshall and Eastern Illinois. He becomes the fourth Illinois offensive lineman to transfer in for the 2024 season.
“It happened pretty fast,” the 6-foot-6, 310-pound right tackle said, “so I don’t think it settled in it yet, but yeah, I’m really excited. I just want to get down there. … I’ve always wanted to play for Illinois.”
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Francis spent the 2023 campaign at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kan., playing offensive guard and garnered all-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference honorable mention honors. He made the position move during spring practice after growing an inch and putting on 10 pounds.
A lot of the credit, according to the 2022 all-Lincoln Trail Conference first-team o-lineman, goes to the Butler strength and conditioning coach Kyle Woodall for helping him work harder to become bigger, stronger and faster in the offseason. Plus, on winter break, Francis spent countless hours in 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 kind of what it was.”
His recruitment really took off after May 7 when he posted his spring practice highlights on social media. EIU offered him 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 the late Princeville coach Rollin Arnett, was in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on an official visit with the Razorbacks.
But his dream was to be an Illini.
“The Arkansas visit was great,” Francis said, “so that was kind of in the back of my mind, but I knew pretty quick right when we got to Champaign that I was going to commit there.
Everything from the football facilities to the weightroom and training tables were all big selling points for him. He met with Tank Wright, the Director of Football Strength and Conditioning, and o-line coach Bart Miller.
Francis, who is looking to enroll next week, has no intentions of redshirting and plans to compete right away for a starting job in any of the five offensive line spots.
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“I want to get in there,” he said, “and learn the playbook and get as big and as fast and as strong as I can.”
Francis has advice to any hungry small-school players looking to leap the junior college ranks to playing major college football: “As long as you keep that end goal in mind,” he said, “… if you really want to play Division-I then it won’t be too hard to stay motivated.”
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
Police are investigating after a motorcyclist was killed in a crash in suburban Oswego on Saturday afternoon.
Officers responded to the 4000 block of Route 34 near Wolf Road for the crash around 1:42 p.m. The motorcyclist was unconscious and was receiving CPR when officers arrived.
They took over medical care until paramedics arrived and took the victim, identified as a 20-year-old man, to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
The victim’s identity is being withheld pending an autopsy scheduled for Monday, police said.
Initial reports say the victim was traveling eastbound on Route 34 when he hit an enclosed trailer being towed by a van. According to the police, the van was also traveling eastbound and was attempting to make a right turn into a driveway when the crash occurred.
The driver and passenger in the van were not hurt, police said.
Route 34 was closed between Wolf Road and Boulder Hill Pass for four hours for crash reconstruction.
The crash remains under investigation pending completion of the traffic crash reconstruction report.
Illinois
Man arrested after barricading himself inside vape shop in Des Plaines, Illinois, police say
A man was arrested after police say he barricaded himself inside a business in Des Plaines on Saturday morning.
The incident happened just before 9 a.m. in the 1500 block of Rand Road.
Des Plaines police said officers responded to Vortex Vapes, located inside a strip mall in the 1500 block of Rand Road, just before 9 a.m. for a report of a suspect, a 26-year-old man from Des Plaines, armed with a box cutter, who confronted the shop employee.
The employee was able to escape the business, but the suspect stayed and barricaded himself inside, police said.
The Tactical Response Team responded to the business and arrested the suspect, who surrendered without incident.
The business was closed for about four hours. Police said the area is now safe for travel, and the business has since reopened.
This incident is still under investigation. Des Plaines police said they will provide additional information once it becomes available.
An Illinois high school football assistant coach has been arrested on criminal sexual abuse charges.
High School on SI previously reported that John “Jake” Wakey had been placed on leave and was being investigated after the FBI received a tip accusing an employee of inappropriate sexual conduct involving a former student over a year ago.
From that tip, investigators confirmed that at least eight students from 2013 to 2015 were abused by Wakey, according to a report by Capitol News Illinois. Thursday, he was arrested and charged with nine Class 2 felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Illinois Assistant Football Coach Was Investigated By FBI, Local Law Enforcement
The charges involve victims aged 13-to-17 by a person in a position of trust during the 2013, 2014 and 2015 school years. Four former students provided statements to Williamson County detectives, with eight total potential victims being connected to the investigation.
“Of those eight identifiable victims, four individuals have presently memorialized the facts of their experiences on the records with investigators, which ultimately formed the basis for the charges announced,” Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich said during a press conference. “In cases involving criminal sexual abuse, it frequently requires a victim-survivor to come forward, disclose what occurred and allow investigators to memorialize those facts for prosecution.
“For many victims, that process can take months or even years, as appears to have occurred in this investigation.”
It was also reported that the offenses involved members of the Carterville High School football team, where Wakey served as an assistant coach.
John “Jake” Wakey Has Previously Been In Trouble As Teacher, Coach
Wakey was placed on paid administrative leave back in February 2026 once the school district received word that he was involved in an investigation. He had worked for the Carterville School District since 2003 as both a teacher and as an assistant football coach.
Previously, Wakey had been suspended for 10 days in 2009 after being accused of inappropriately texting students, allowing students at his home and drinking in front of students. He was not charged at the time. He also received a misdemeanor conviction for providing liquor to minors in 2003 before joining Carterville.
“The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office is aware of longstanding community concerns, suspicions, rumors and allegations involving inappropriate conduct, including allegations related to alcohol, student-teacher contact and the sharing of images involving students and/or faculty members,” Diederich said.
Wakey is set to be held at the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office after being transferred from the Livingston County Jail. The Carterville Board of Education is expected to hold a special meeting to take action on the “discipline and/or dismissal of a licensed employee of the District.”
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