Highly anticipated WVU football transfer receiver Taron Francis breaks out in barn burner with Texas Tech
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MORGANTOWN -- In January, West Virginia football made a big splash in the transfer portal, landing former 4-star wide receiver Taron Francis from LSU. He only played a couple of games in his true freshman season for head coach Brian Kelly, after being listed as the No. 1 receiver in Louisiana by 247Sports out of high school. Francis still had untapped talent.
The Mountaineers needed receivers, having just two standouts in 2025, John Neider and Cam Vaughn. Both of them were gone, so the room needed rebuilding. Landing Francis, who had multiple years of eligibility left, was a big addition.
Throughout the offseason, there were occasional updates of Francis' progression. He was active a little in the spring game too. But, through eight games of the season, there weren't many signs of the receiver nicknamed “Manchild”. Francis played in all eight games, but only got the ball once in those games, and it wasn't even a catch. He carried the ball for three yards against U.T. Martin.
Francis kept his head down and kept working.
"It's all about just God's timing," Francis said. “It's not on your time. Just keep progressing. Building on your game and your time will come."
In a shootout against No. 15 Texas Tech, the ninth game of the year, Francis finally arrived.
"Just being ready when my number was called," Francis said. "Just building that confidence with my receiver coach. He was just telling me to be ready. When my number is called, just go in there and play hard, play physical."
In the second quarter, Francis shook his man, and quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. found him. Francis took off for 73 yards and a touchdown on his first catch as a Mountaineer. He showed off his track background and turned on the burners.
Prior to the play, Francis listened to his coaches on the sideline, and they said the corner was going to trap, so be ready for the ball.
"Mike threw me the ball, and I just made a play," Francis said. "My eyes just got big. Just gotta catch the ball and get to the end zone."
Francis wasn't done there. He had two big grabs in the third quarter, helping in the 21-point comeback. Francis finished the game as the leading receiver with three grabs for a career-high 169 yards. He had a big 75-yard catch and run for his longest grab.
"I saw the safety coming down, and I was like, ‘this is going to be wide open,’" Francis said on his big catch. "I took the seam, Mike threw me the ball, and I'm mad I didn't score, but I made a good play for our team."
The Mountaineers needed a receiver to step up. The defense was not getting any stops, so WVU found itself in a barn burner, and no other receivers really broke out. Francis was tied with Prince Strachan with three catches. The only other receivers to catch a pass were D.J. Epps and Cyrus Traugh. Tight end Ryan Ward had a great catch down the sideline.
But for explosives, Francis was the guy. He found holes in the Texas Tech secondary when watching film before the game, and exploited them.
"Just watching the safeties, the corners, and how they play," Francis said. "Just getting to that open space and making the ball, and be a ball player."
He has three more games to carry this momentum into next season. Francis, if he stays, should be a big piece for years to come for the Mountaineers since he's just a sophomore. WVU is losing pieces in the receiver room, including Jaden Bray and D.J. Epps, so Francis should be more involved next year, if not in the final few games this season.
After a lot of hype in the offseason, Francis finally had his breakout game, which couldn't have come at a better time in a shootout.
"He's slowly learning," Rich Rodriguez said. "He's been working really hard in practice. He's making the most of his opportunity."