Yesterday, we closed out the fifties with a bang but today we open up the forties with a hard hitting linebacker that played college ball in the deep south.
Patrick Willis grew up in Bruceton, Tennessee and was a three star recruit out of high school. He eventually picked Ole Miss over Memphis to play his college ball. Willis played with the Rebels from 2003 to 2006. In his freshman campaign he played in all thirteen games making twenty tackles.
As a sophomore in 2004, Willis played in ten of the Rebels eleven games and made All SEC Honorable Mention after racking up seventy tackles, eleven for loss, and five sacks. The next two seasons solidified Willis as one of the best college linebackers ever.
In Wills’s 2005 season, he dominated the SEC. He amassed one hundred and twenty eight tackles, three sacks, and two forced fumbles. Those stats earned him First Team All SEC and First Team All American honors.
2006 was by far the best year for the Rebels inside linebacker as he went for one hundred and thirty seven tackles, three sacks, and seven pass breakups. He was once again named First Team All SEC and First Team All American. In addition to that, Willis was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year, won the Butkus Award, Lambert Award, and Conerly Award.
In 2019, Willis was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. For tomorrow, we highlight a big time pass rusher that played against Willis in the Super Bowl.