CLINTON, S.C. – Hammering the nail in the coffin with just over one minute to go in the Presbyterian College football team's season-ending W over Morehead State last weekend, sophomore defensive back Caleb Francis has been chosen as the Adidas / Game One PC Student-Athlete of the Week.

Already submitted for 20 starts in his Blue Hose career – lining up at one of the corner spots in each contest this fall as an underclassman – Francis picked the perfect moment to notch his second interception of the season on Saturday, sending home MSU for a 31-27 victory at Bailey Memorial Stadium and a 4-7 final record.

Hailing from Jacksonville, Florida, the DB lined up 35 tackles in 2023 (as well as a forced fumble in the penultimate home bout against San Diego), crushing the Eagles' hopes by snaring a deep ball with 1:18 on the board that solidified the come-from-behind win.

In a tidy signifier of things coming full-circle, Francis accounted for his INT's during the first and late game at Bailey Memorial this fall. He'd posted a 32-yard pick six near the halftime break of a 48-17 W over Virginia-Lynchburg two months prior to the Morehead game-clincher, giving his team a huge offseason boost 72 hours ago with the Eagles' dagger.



Efficiency has been a key component of PC's defensive unit this semester, one of the most well-rounded groups in the Pioneer Football League and the greater FCS band as a whole. Caleb was a focal point to Presby's secondary giving up just 144 passing yards per outing, the third-smallest number of any team in the country since August.

Just one week before the squad's ultimate perseverance that bested MSU – ending the bout with a 21-7 run after falling behind by 10 in the second half – Francis became the first PC player in two years to tally three pass breakups in a single affair as he did so versus eventual PFL regular season champion Drake, a contest where the Blue Hose held the Bulldogs out of the end zone for the last 50 minutes in a 16-14 decision.

No stranger to tight finishes, Presbyterian witnessed eight of their 11 matchups fall within a 10-point window. They'd win three such battles: a 23-20 thriller against Southern Conference foe Wofford, a 20-17 overtime W at Dayton in a downpour, and Saturday's triumph that lands as the school's second Pioneer League victory since formally joining the conference in 2021.

The Presbyterian College athletic department partnered with Game One on a multi-year apparel agreement last November as an official team dealer for Adidas. The partnership extended the university's alliance with Adidas which began in 2015 to outfit the Blue Hose athletic programs.

Game One is among the largest and fastest-growing sports equipment and apparel suppliers in the country, serving a loyal customer base of 13,000 schools and organizations in 38 states.

Presbyterian's Adidas / Game One Student-Athlete of the Week
September 11, 2023 – Tyler Wesley, Football
September 18, 2023 – Kasey Battle, Volleyball
September 27, 2023 – Damorney Hutchinson, Men's Soccer
October 3, 2023 - Sophia Del Valle, Volleyball
October 10, 2023 - Lina-Marie Müller, Women's Soccer
October 16, 2023 - Alex Herriott, Football
October 24, 2023 - Jack Wofford, Men's Golf
October 31, 2023 - Keyli Gomez, Women's Cross Country
November 7, 2023 – Henlee Haynes, Women's Wrestling
November 14, 2023 - Samage Teel, Men's Basketball