Nebraska football had a very good early signing day. Some surprise commits and signed Letters of Intent allowed the Huskers to finish the day inside the Top 20 rankings for all schools. One of the additions that allowed the team to have such a successful day was South Dade safety Jaiden Francois.
During a signing ceremony at his school (a school that sent five players to FBS schools on Wednesday) Francois eventually picked the Cornhuskers by unbuttoning a black dress shirt to show a Nebraska t-shirt underneath. The choice came after there appeared to be some drama behind his choice.
While the event was getting ready to start Francois could be seen talking on his cell several times. Onlookers remarked that he appeared to be getting emotional and had to leave the room where the ceremony was taking place several times. It appears his actions on Wednesday, paired with his decommitment from the Miami Hurricanes drew the ire of writer Barry Jackson who blasted the defensive back on Twitter shortly after the announcement.
Jaiden Francois, who decommitted from UM twice, picks Nebraska over Miami, thus saving UM from drama of him eventually transferring if he didn't get enough playing time here
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) December 18, 2019
"Jaiden Francois, who decommitted from UM twice, picks Nebraska over Miami, thus saving UM from drama of him eventually transferring if he didn't get enough playing time here."
Backlash was swift
Some of Jackson's anger appears to have been rooted in the fact that Hurricanes fans, and recruiting analysts believed Francois was heading to Miami once and for all.
247Sports had Miami with a 67 percent chance of landing the Florida native. That was compared to the just 33 percent chance he'd be coming to Lincoln.
Jackson might have been deeply disappointed in Jaiden Francois's choice but fans were quick to comment on how inappropriate they found his reaction.
Dude, you're an adult tweeting this about a kid.
— Heart of Huskerland Blog (@HuskerlandBlog) December 18, 2019
🤣baby. We won.
— lovetheskers (@iluvthehuskers) December 18, 2019
Another Nebraska football story entirely
When some Miami fans attempted to come to Jackson's defense, pointing to Francois' behavior during the signing ceremony, Nebraska football fans brought up rumors that had been flying around Wednesday morning.
Reports began to surface earlier in the day that Francois had been told Husker secondary coach Travis Fischer was about to leave Nebraska. Other reports indicate Francois was either on the phone with Fischer or Scott Frost getting the story straight.
Shortly after Francois announced his commitment to Nebraska football, Fischer, who is not someone who uses Twitter all that often sent out a post talking about how he was excited to coach the new commits for the next four or five years in Lincoln.
Most Husker fans and analysts took that as a sign he had heard the rumor and was shooting it down without directly addressing it. For his part, it doesn't appear Barry Jackson has apologized or walked back his comments regarding Jaiden Francois.