Patrick Willis

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Patrick Willis
Date of birth	January 25, 1985fg
Place of birth	Bruceton, Tennessee
Position(s)	LB
College	Ole Miss
Awards	2006 Butkus Award

Patrick L. Willis (b. January 25, 1985 in Bruceton, Tennessee) He is currently a senior starting inside linebacker for the Ole Miss Rebels football team, and one of the top prospects for the 2007 NFL Draft.

1 High School Career
2 Ole Miss Career
3 NFL Combine
4 External links

[edit] High School Career

Willis attended Central High School. There he was Class "A" Mr. Football in Tennessee, a two-time All-State selection, Regional Most Valuable Player, West Tennessee Player of the Year, and Mr. Central High School. He earned 4 letters in football and basketball, and 3 in baseball. He was also the first person in Tennessee state history to be nominated for both Offense and Defense for the Mr. Football Award in the same year.

[edit] Ole Miss Career

In 2003, Willis played in all 13 games as a freshman, making 20 stops. He received the Scholar-Athlete Award from the Ole Miss Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame.

As a sophomore in 2004, he appeared in 10 of 11 games, earning honorable mention All-SEC honors from The Associated Press, and recorded 70 tackles with 11 for a loss of yardage.

In 2005, as a junior, he was named a First Team All-America by CollegeFootballNews.com and the All-American Football Foundation. He also earned First Team All-SEC honors from Associated Press, SEC Coaches, CollegeFootballNews.com and Rivals.com. He was a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award and was rated as college football's #2 overall player by CollegeFootballNews.com. He recorded 128 tackles (90 solo), in 10 games started.

In his senior season in 2006, he totaled 137 tackles (87 solo). Before the season, he received the Chucky Mullins Courage Award. He was named pre-season first team All-American by Athlon, Lindy's, Nationalchamps.net, Rivals.com, Playboy, Blue Ribbon College Yearbook, Phil Steele, The Sporting News, and The Kickoff. For his efforts, he was awarded SEC Defensive Player of the Year, first team All-SEC, first team AP All-American, and the winner of the prestigious Dick Butkus Award, given to the most outstanding linebacker in college football for the year 2006.

[edit] NFL Combine

At the 2007 NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Willis was measured at 6'1 and 242lbs. Willis ran an unofficial 4.49 seconds 40 yard dash and an official 4.51 second 40 yard dash.