Defensive back fulfills dream, signs with Warriors

For defensive back Akil Francisco, payback is a University of Hawaii football scholarship.

On Wednesday, Francisco, who will be an Encinal High (Alameda, Calif.) senior in the fall, fulfilled a family promise when he pledged to join the Warriors in 2017.

“I have to give a lot of props to my Uncle John (Francisco) back home (in Northern California),” Francisco said. “He took me under his wing after my mom died (in 2009). He basically made a promise to my mom, saying he would get me to go to college. These past couple of years is what he’s been striving for, to get me to college. This commitment is a way of paying back respect to him for all the hard work and sacrifice he’s made for me up to this point.”

Francisco’s father, Mike “Dream” Francisco, was a highly regarded graffiti artist who was killed during an armed robbery in 2000. The elder Francisco drew praise for his work, which blended bold drawings and words depicting the struggles of the underprivileged. In Oakland, “Dream” was celebrated in the graffiti and hip-hop worlds. Each year, both communities pay tribute to his memory with a “Dream Day.”

When Akil Francisco was 10, his mother died of breast cancer.

By then, Francisco had double vision, focusing on academics and athletics. A few years later, he had visions of paradise when his cousin enrolled at UH.

Francisco took two unofficial visits to UH — last year for the Thanksgiving weekend and a month ago for his cousin’s graduation.

“Ever since my cousin went there, I had a feeling about going there,” Francisco said. “I thought Hawaii would be a good place for the next step in my football career, and for my academics as well.”

The UH coaches attended this past weekend’s camp in Oakland, where Francisco participated.

“Coach Rolo is a good guy,” Francisco said of Nick Rolovich, UH’s first-year head coach. “The coaching staff is really nice. I love everything about the (UH) campus and the facilities. All of those things helped make me choose Hawaii.”

Francisco is 6 feet and 155 pounds. He said he is not concerned about his lean build because he expects to gain weight when he joins the Warriors’ strength and conditioning program.

“I’m very grateful,” Francisco said. “This is for my parents, my uncle, my teammates and my coaches. This is for everybody who ever believed in me, who were there through my ups and downs. This commitment is for all of them.”