 |
| Just one of the very many tackles Aaron Francisco made in Cougar blue (Stuart Johnson, Deseret News). |
Gary Crowton's final three seasons as head coach of the BYU Cougars were rather forgettable. However, some individual players from that time played well enough they cannot be forgotten. Aaron Francisco is one of them.
Francisco is the third player on the list to be born in Hawaii. He is one of the many Polynesian players who came to BYU via the Hawaiian football factory Kahuku High School. He was named All-State and lead the Red Raiders to a state championship as a senior.
As a true freshman at BYU in 2001, it was easy to overlook the contributions he made. Luke Staley was running away with the Doak Walker Award as Cougar fans witnessed the most prolific offense Provo had seen for a very long time, which is saying a lot. However, Francisco finished the season tenth on the team in tackles (27), and they weren't a bunch of special teams take downs or garbage time tackles.
Francisco started the 2001 season opener--the very first game of his career. He also started the Air Force game, while playing in all 14 games that season. In the first quarter of the New Mexico game, Francisco made one of his two interceptions that season. His other interception came in his home state against Hawaii. He also had his second most tackles of the season (5) that game.
When Francisco became a full-time starter as a sophomore, he exploded. In the first game against Syracuse, he tied for a team-high 11 tackles and two passes defensed. He had another big game in game two against his home-town team Hawaii. Francisco, again, tied for the most tackles on the team (10). One was a tackle for loss. Game three saw Francisco intercept a pass and break up two others. For the third time in four games, Francisco shared the honors for most tackles in a game with nine at Georgia Tech.
Through the first four games of 2002, Francisco had been a key part in all of them. That continued all season. He would set a new career-high with 12 tackles against Colorado State, and would raise that by the end of the season when he led the team in tackles with 14 against Utah.
Francisco was second on the team in tackles that season with 99. He was named honorable mention All-MWC, but the team voted him the defensive MVP. He was just getting started.
In 2003, Francisco became the focal point of the new defensive scheme employed by new defensive coordinator Bronco Mendenhall. Francisco led the team in tackles eight times that season. He had double digit tackles in six games. His 116 tackles was nearly 40 more than Colby Bockwoldt (77) who had the second most tackles on the team. It wasn't until ten years later, when another Polynesian Uani Unga went wild, that a BYU player had more tackles in a season. Francisco was also the team leader in interceptions (3). He had a career-high seven tackles for loss as a junior.
While BYU had a horrible 4-8 record that season, the defense was one of the best in the nation allowing just 307 yards per game (14th nationally), of which 176 were passing yards (8th). There was no denying Francisco played a big role in the Cougar D achieving those rankings. In recognition of that, he was named first team All-MWC.
As a senior, Francisco had back-to-back games with 16 tackles (USC and Boise State) to establish a new career high. He led the team in tackles in a game three times. With just 88 tackles on the season, Francisco was second on the team. He was also second on the team with a career-high seven pass breakups. For the second straight year, he was first team All-MWC.
Since tackles became an official statistic kept by the NCAA, not only does Francisco hold the school record with 330 career tackles, he is the only BYU player to eclipse 300 tackles.
| Tackles |
Solo
| Assist | TFL | PD | Int | Sacks | QBH | FF | FR | TD | |
| 2001 |
27
|
20
|
7
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
| 2002 |
99
|
51
|
48
|
3
|
4
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
| 2003 |
116
|
53
|
63
|
7
|
3
|
3
|
0
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
0
|
| 2004 |
88
|
43
|
45
|
4.5
|
7
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
| Career |
330
|
167
|
163
|
16.5
|
16
|
7
|
1
|
3
|
6
|
3
|
0
|
Francisco enjoyed an six-year career in the NFL. He made the Arizona Cardinals roster as an undrafted free agent in 2005. While wins eluded the teams he was a part of at BYU, he was a part of two Super Bowl runs in the NFL with the Cardinals in 2008 and Indianapolis Colts in 2009. He made 218 tackles and intercepted four passes during his career.
Top 10 Polynesian Players
10. Mekeli Ieremia, DT, 1974-77
9. Kurt Gouveia, LB, 1982-85
8. Reno Mahe, WR/RB, 1998, 2001-02
7. Glen Kozlowski, WR, 1981, 1983-85
6. Aaron Francisco, DB, 2001-04
5. Vai Sikahema, PR/KR/RB, 1980-81, 1984-85
4. Kai Nacua, FS, 2013-16
3. Lakei Heimuli, RB, 1983-86
2. Harvey Unga, RB, 2006-09
1. Kyle Van Noy, LB, 2010-13
The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com
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