Living in Italy, Francesco never had a real opportunity to see professional football live. His first experience playing football came from playing with a couple of local kids at a U.S. Army base near Livorno. The kids at Camp Darby were amazed by the raw athletic ability of Francesco, and eventually convinced him to try perusing the sport.
After joining the high school team at the local army base, Francesco began to thrive in the sport. He found his home at the Free Safety position. In his entire high school career, he caught an Italian record of 48 interceptions, and 412 tackles. The best moment in his high school career, however, was getting to travel to the Ireland to watch real American Football live. Georgia Tech played Boston College, and although it may have been an awful game, Francesco was inspired to go to the US for college and to make an impact on the game of College Football.
