Dan France

Daniel Joseph France (born April 1, 1991) is an American football offensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Michigan State. He was originally signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2014.

Dan France
Free agent
Position:Offensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1991-04-01) April 1, 1991
Fairview Park, Ohio
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:312 lb (142 kg)
Career information
High school:North Royalton (OH)
College:Michigan State
Undrafted:2014
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics as of 2016
Games played:0
Games started:0
Player stats at NFL.com

High school career

France attended North Royalton High School in North Royalton, Ohio. He was a three-year starter for North Royalton's basketball and football teams. France played both defensive end and tight end for head coach Nick Ciulli and excelled at both positions. He was ranked the nation's #21 strong side defensive end by Rivals.com, OhioVarsity.com's #6 tight end in Ohio, OhioVarsity.com's top blocking tight end in the state, Rivals.com's #22 senior player in Ohio, and the Plain Dealer's #13 senior in the state. France was also voted to Prepstar's and Superprep's All-Midwest teams.[1]

He received offers from Michigan State, Indiana, Iowa, NC State, Purdue, Northwestern, Stanford, and Vanderbilt. On August 4, 2008, he officially committed to Michigan State.[2]

College career

2009

France attended Michigan State University from 2009-2013. He redshirted his first year as a true freshman.[1]

2010

In 2010, he played as a defensive tackle behind Jerel Worthy and Anthony White. He made his collegiate debut in the Spartan's season opener against Western Michigan and finished the victory with two tackles, a quarterback hurry, and a pass break-up. He played in seven games during the season. During the team's bowl practices, he began practicing as an offensive lineman.[1]

2011

The following season, France fully transitioned to offensive lineman and was projected as the Spartan's starting left tackle going into preseason camp after impressing his coaches during spring practice. on September 10, 2011, he made his first career start and collegiate debut at left tackle against Florida Atlantic. He finished his sophomore season with 29 knockdowns and started 13 games.[1]

2012

He remained as Michigan State's starting left tackle to begin his junior season. He started 11 games during the regular season and played in 90% of Michigan State's offensive snaps. He missed the Spartan's annual rivalry game against Michigan due to a concussion. He totaled 36 knockdowns during 2012.[1]

2013

After starting the previous two season at offensive tackle, France was switched to an offensive guard during spring practice. He started all 13 games at right guard but missed the Rose Bowl against Stanford due to a lower leg injury. He finished his last season at Michigan State with a career high 69.5 knockdowns, was an All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and media, and was twice voted the Spartan's offensive lineman of the week.

He finished his collegiate career with 46 game appearances and 37 starts, 119.5 knockdowns, and 25 dominators.[1] During his time at Michigan State, he blocked for teammates and future NFL players Kirk Cousins, Le'Veon Bell, and Jeremy Langford.[3]

Professional career

France was not invited to the NFL combine but did perform at Michigan State's annual pro day on March 11, 2014.

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 5 in
(1.96 m)		 300 lb
(136 kg)		 5.45 s 1.95 s 3.15 s 4.70 s 7.69 s 28 in
(0.71 m)		 8 ft 6 in
(2.59 m)		 27 reps
All values from Michigan State's Pro Day[4]

Cincinnati Bengals

After going undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft, France was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2014.[5] On August 30, 2014, he was waived by the Bengals and was signed to their practice squad the following day.[6][7] On January 6, 2015, signed a reserve/future contract with the Bengals.[8]

On September 5, 2015, France was waived by the Bengals and was signed to their practice squad the next day.[9][10] He was released by the Bengals on November 30, 2015.[11]

Cleveland Browns

On December 2, 2015, the Cleveland Browns signed France to their practice squad.[12] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Browns on January 5, 2016.[13] France united with his former Cincinnati Bengals' offensive coordinator Hue Jackson when he was hired as the Browns' new head coach on January 13, 2016. On September 3, 2016, the Browns waived him as a part of their final roster cuts and he was signed to their practice squad the next day.[14][15]

Carolina Panthers

On November 29, 2016, France was signed to the Carolina Panthers' active roster from the Browns' practice squad after the Panthers suffered numerous injuries to their offensive linemen, including Michael Oher, Ryan Kalil, and Gino Gradkowski.[16]

On September 1, 2017, France was placed on injured reserve.[17]

Personal life

He was raised by his parents, John and Judy France, and majored in hospitality business at Michigan State.[1] During high school, France umpired baseball games for 7-8 year old youth games. He is able to kick field goals and has made one from 50-yards. France is also a fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Family Guy, and Forrest Gump and cites golf as one of his hobbies. He is engaged to be married to his fiancée Kelsey in 2017.[18]

References
  1. "Michigan State Spartans: Dan France". msuspartans.com. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  2. "Rival.com: Dan France". n.rivals.com. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  3. "Carolina Panthers: Dan France". panthers.com. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  4. "Dan France/Michigan State, OG: 2014 NFL Draft". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  5. Marcum, Jason (May 12, 2014). "Cincinnati Bengals cut Josh Johnson; Sign 10 Undrafted Free Agents". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  6. Kirkendall, Josh (August 30, 2014). "Cincinnati Bengals 53-Man Roster". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  7. Marcum, Jason (August 31, 2014). "Cincinnati Bengals Practice Squad Finalized". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  8. Harvey, Coley (January 5, 2015). "Cincinnati Bengals sign seven to futures contracts". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  9. Toback, Rebecca (September 5, 2015). "Bengals roster cuts: Bengals 53-man roster 2015". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  10. Kirkendall, Josh (September 5, 2015). "Cincinnati Bengals 2015 practice squad announced". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  11. Hobson, Geoff (November 30, 2015). "Notes: Geno makes push for DPOY; Porter waived; Ex-Ravens CB added to PS". Bengals.com. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  12. "Browns sign WR Terrelle Pryor, place Josh McCown on IR". ClevelandBrowns.com. December 2, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  13. "Browns sign 6 players". ClevelandBrowns.com. January 5, 2016. Archived from the original on April 17, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  14. Gribble, Andrew (September 3, 2016). "Cleveland Browns reduce roster to 53". ClevelandBrowns.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  15. "Browns claim 5 players, sign 4 to practice squad". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 4, 2016. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  16. Henson, Max (November 29, 2016). "Ryan Kalil, Gino Gradkowski placed on IR". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  17. Strickland, Bryan (September 1, 2017). "Panthers reduce roster to 77". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2017.
  18. "Cleveland Browns: Dan France". ClevelandBrowns.com. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
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