Chris Francis Class: Junior Hometown: Cedar Hill, Texas High School: Cedar Hill Weight: 235 Position: LB Experience: 2L

Third-year junior adds veteran experience to linebacking corps... Son of James Francis and nephew of Ron Francis, both former NFL players and former Baylor Bears.

2008 (Sophomore): Backup linebacker played every game, registered at least one tackle in 10 of 12 games as sophomore in 2008... Finished season with 23 tackles, including 12 solo, a half-sack, one interception and one fumble recovered... Made four tackles (two solo) and credited with a shared sack (-2 yards) in win over Northwestern State in second game... Made only interception of season (second of career) vs. NSU... Made only fumble recovery of season (added two tackles) in win over Washington State in third game... Registered a season-high five tackles (two solo) vs. top-ranked Oklahoma in fifth game... Totaled three tackles against both Texas and Texas A&M in 10th and 11th game, respectively.

2007 (True Freshman): Saw action in 11 games as true freshman linebacker and registered 19 tackles (eight solos) to earn spot on Sporting News' All-Big 12 freshman team... Registered career-high five tackles (two solo) vs. Colorado; one of five multi-tackle games as rookie... Also had three stops at No. 4 Oklahoma (1 solo) and vs. Oklahoma State (2 solo)... Recorded first career interception at Oklahoma, returned two yards... Had one kickoff return for six yards... Missed season-opener at No. 22 TCU with knee injury sustained in fall camp... Played 224 snaps for first Baylor letter with high of 32, twice.

High School: Cedar Hill High School, Cedar Hill, Texas... One of three sons of former Baylor football All-Americans to follow in father's footsteps to Waco... Committed to Baylor prior to start of senior year... Son of former Baylor All-American and 1989 consensus All-SWC linebacker James Francis, younger Francis ranked as nation's 62nd-best outside linebacker by Rivals.com... 3-star rating by Rivals.com... Rated 50th on The Dallas Morning News' Area Top 100 list and 80th on San Antonio Express-News Texas Top 100, Francis joined Cedar Hill teammates Romie Blaylock and John Jones in Bears' 2007 recruiting class... Waco Tribune-Herald Top 100 recruit... 2006 Texas Football Texas Top 300 pick tabbed one of state's top 20 linebackers by same publication... 2006 Texas Sports Writers Association Class 5A Defensive Player of Year... First-team Class 5A all-state selection by Texas Sports Writers Association, District 8-5A co-defensive MVP and first-team Dallas Morning News all-area selection... Totaled 212 tackles, nine tackles for loss, five sacks, three forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries and one interception for Class 5A Division II champion and 16-0 Longhorns... Biggest tackle of season came against Garland in state semifinals, on fourth-and-1, he and teammate Cameron Thompson stopped running back Dwight Hamilton for no gain with eight seconds left to preserve Longhorns' 31-24 victory... Defensive MVP of Cedar Hill's 51-17 5A Division II state championship victory over Cypress Falls... Credited with 136 tackles as junior en route to first-team District 7-5A honors... Active in FCA... Coached by Joey McGuire at District 8-5A school.

Personal: Son of James Francis and Rosalyn Johnson, Chris Michael Francis was born Nov. 25, 1988, in Waco, Texas... Father, James, was first-round draft choice of NFL's Cincinnati Bengals in 1990 NFL Draft and played with Bengals from 1990 through 1998 before ending career with Washington Redskins in 1999... James Francis is fifth-leading tackler in Baylor football history with 334 stops and single-season school- and NCAA-record eight blocked kicks as senior in 1989... Chris' uncle, cornerback Ron Francis, also played at Baylor and was drafted in second round of 1987 NFL Draft by Dallas Cowboys, played from 1987 through 1990... Enjoys playing video games and working out... Majoring in general studies.