‘I get to pursue those dreams that he couldn’t’: Why WSU LB Caleb Francl never takes his opportunity for granted

PULLMAN – Years before Caleb Francl became a staple at linebacker at Washington State, years before he played a key role with his speed and smarts and awareness to help the Cougars win three of their first five games this fall, he was a teenaged roofer.

It was the middle of 2013, the summer before Francl’s eighth-grade year growing up in south central Nebraska, and he was put to work. His dad, Ryan, enlisted the help of Caleb and his brothers, Jaryn and Ben, to help his business chug along. Together, the trio of siblings helped rip shingles off roofs and toss them into a trailer, doing so all summer, one day after another, one tile after the next.

“There’s that work ethic there,” Francl said. “Just instilling that at a young age.”

Francl hails from Grand Island, Nebraska, a town of some 50,000 that aptly fits the description middle of nowhere. To get to either of the bigger cities, Lincoln or Omaha, you have to drive more than an hour and a half. In his younger years, Francl spent time in nearby Cairo, then the family moved even farther: To northern California and southern Texas, before returning to Grand Island in time for Caleb to join the roofing business as a teen.

Around that time, Caleb began to internalize what it meant to be his dad’s son. Coming out of high school, Ryan was a great athlete, and he had chances to play basketball or football at the college level. But at age 18, Ryan and his wife, Keri, had their first child. “Ultimately, he had to drop those aspirations and become a man, and start working,” Caleb said.

Which is what Francl was thinking about earlier this year, when he and a few other WSU seniors got in front of their teammates to talk about their journeys. It was after one practice, and when he began to talk, Francl found himself centering his path around one word: regret.

If there was one thing he regretted about his path, from spending his freshman year at South Dakota State during the coronavirus pandemic to winding up at WSU last winter, it was the way he handled an injury. It happened during SDSU’s 2022 season-opener, a visit to Iowa, a chance for the Jackrabbits to prove they could hang with their FBS counterparts.

Francl never got the opportunity. Late in the second half, with SDSU down only a field goal, he picked off a pass over the middle and returned it nearly 20 yards – but when he went down, he did so with a knee injury. It was later diagnosed as a torn ACL. He missed the entire season, a devastating setback for the promising young Francl, who looked poised to become a star for an FCS powerhouse.

What Francl regretted more than the injury itself, though, was his response. On the road to recovery, even as the Jackrabbits went on to capture the FCS national championship that season, he found himself in a dark place, dwelling on the thoughts his brain couldn’t turn off: Why did that happen to me? Could I be in a different place right now? What would have happened if that didn’t happen?

Francl would hardly be the first athlete to suffer a long-term injury and get plagued by similar thoughts. Which is why he doesn’t really beat himself up about thinking them. In hindsight, what he has a harder time stomaching is that he let himself live in that cave after recovering and returning to the field.

A year later, when he was able to play again, he had lost his starting spot. That went to veteran linebacker Isaiah Stalbird, whose emergence relegated Francl to special teams. He did play some linebacker, but those snaps came in mop-up duties, coming in toward the end of games that were out of reach.

Even as that season unfolded, and SDSU went on to capture a second straight FCS crown, Francl couldn’t shake himself out of that hole. The thoughts kept hitting him: Where could I be right now if my injury hadn’t happened? Eventually, though, Francl had to look himself in the mirror and be frank with himself.

“It was really just like realizing that I was stuck in it,” Francl said. “It just took time, really, and reflection, looking back at it. One day, woke up and I’m like, why am I still thinking about this? It is so far in the past.”

Looking back, Francl understands how deeply that mentality resonated with him. He had to keep it in mind later in 2023, when he tore his shoulder toward the end of the season. He kept it in mind at the tail end of the next season, last year, when he suffered a neck injury, sidelining him for WSU’s entire spring practice slate.

What Francl understands now is it’s no coincidence he decided to leave the past in the past, to move forward. He realizes that’s what his dad, Ryan, had to do decades ago, when he had to leave behind his athletic dreams to become a father and enter the workforce. Growing up, Caleb heard it time and again from his dad: Not everything goes the way it’s supposed to.

“The biggest thing is life isn’t fair,” Caleb said, referring to the biggest lesson his dad taught him, “and I think that happens a lot in sports, especially college sports. You get dealt certain cards, whether it’s injuries or things just don’t go your way, and just gotta learn to overcome that, get past it.”

In his first and only season as a Cougar, with his college career winding down, Francl has made his dad look like a genius. He’s racked up 27 tackles, third-most on the team. He’s played 259 snaps, second-most, illustrating the kind of consistent availability that eluded him in years past. He’s played a key role in his unit’s best showings, including allowing only 10 points to Idaho and just three to Colorado State, recovering a fumble in the latter contest.

To make the most of their next few games, the Cougs will need Francl in big ways. This weekend, WSU visits No. 4 Ole Miss. After that, it’s off to No. 19 Virginia. But no matter how those games go, Francl has understood this reality: That he can play at this level is blessing enough, one not everyone in his family has enjoyed.

“Really, for me, it’s like, I get to pursue those dreams that he couldn’t,” Francl said of Ryan. “At the same time, he had to step up, and he did. When things get hard, like these injuries and whatnot, I think about him and all that. I could have been working right out of high school and not being able to pursue the things I wanted to pursue.”