Patrick Willis

Patrick L. Willis (born January 25, 1985) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire eight-year Hall of Fame career as a linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL).

Regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Willis was listed as the No. 60 linebacker prospect in the class of 2003.

He chose Ole Miss over Memphis.

Patrick leads by example.

He is not a big talker.

He just gets in there and does his job every day and makes everybody around him better.

Willis attended the University of Mississippi ("Ole Miss"), and played for the Ole Miss Rebels football team from 2003 to 2006.

As a freshman at Ole Miss, Willis played in all 13 games and made 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 and earned honorable mention All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) honors from the Associated Press.

He recorded 70 tackles (54 solo), and led the team with 11.0 tackles for a loss and five sacks.

In Willis's 2005 junior campaign, he led the SEC in total tackles at 12.80 per game, which placed him sixth nationally.

He finished season with 128 total tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Willis was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year by CollegeFootballNews.com and Scout.com.

He was also named as a first-team All-American by College Football News and the All-American Football Foundation.

Willis earned first-team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press, SEC Coaches, CollegeFootballNews.com and Rivals.com.

He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels, earning consensus All-American honors in 2006.

During Willis's senior season at Ole Miss, he received the Butkus Award and the Jack Lambert Award as the nation's top linebacker.

He won the college Butkus Award in 2006 while at Ole Miss and in 2009, he won the professional Butkus Award while with the 49ers.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2024.

Born in Bruceton, Tennessee, Willis grew up in abject poverty and had to take care of his younger siblings.

By the age of 10, he worked full-time in cotton fields.

At age 17, he left his home, a double-wide in a trailer park just outside Bruceton, with his brothers, Orey and Detris, and sister, Ernicka, when his alcoholic father turned increasingly violent.

The siblings moved in with Willis's high school basketball coach.

Willis attended Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central High School, where he was a two-time All-State selection, Regional Most Valuable Player, and West Tennessee Player of the Year.

He earned four letters in football and basketball, and three in baseball.

He was also the first person in Tennessee state history to be nominated for both the Mr. Football Award for a Lineman (as a linebacker) and the Mr. Football Award for a Back (as a tailback) in the same season.

During Willis's last collegiate year in 2006, he led the SEC in tackles once again with 11.4 per game and collected 137 tackles, 11.5 TFLs, seven passes deflected, three sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

He was awarded SEC Defensive Player of the Year, first-team All-SEC, and consensus first-team All-American.

He was the winner of the Jack Lambert Award and the prestigious Dick Butkus Award, given to the most outstanding linebacker in college football.

He also won the Conerly Trophy, voted upon by the media in Mississippi and awarded to the best college football player in Mississippi.

In addition, he was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award and semi-finalist for both the Rotary Lombardi Award and the Lott Trophy.

Originally regarded as a late-first to early-second round draft pick, Willis improved his draft stock with an impressive performance at the NFL Combine; his 4.56 40-yard dash was one of the fastest among linebackers.

He also posted a 39-inch vertical jump and recorded 22 repetitions of the 225-lb.

bench press.

Willis clocked in at 4.38 seconds for his 40-yard dash during his University of Mississippi pro-day workout.

Analysts of The Sporting News compared him to Jeremiah Trotter.

He was drafted by the 49ers in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft.

A year later as a member of the 49ers, Willis led the NFL in tackles, earned first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors while being named the 2007 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Willis made the Pro Bowl in his first seven seasons in the NFL, and earned All-Pro honors in his first six years.