CANTON — Most remember 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinee Patrick Willis as being one of the greatest linebackers in the modern era of the game. The thing most don’t know is that Willis was a standout running back in high school and considered playing that position in college
One practice at Ole Miss as a freshman quickly changed his mind.
“I have a funny story about that,” Willis said Friday during a media event at the Canton Repository. “I was originally recruited to Ole Miss as an athlete. I remember one of the position coaches calling me over and telling me to come get some running back reps. I was watching a drill and a safety came up and hit the running back so hard it sounded like a fright train colliding and derailing. You could hear it everywhere. At that moment I was like, ‘I’m not letting anybody hit me like that.’ I decided to stick with defense so I could deliver those kind of hits.”
It ended up being a terrific decision. Willis went on to have a stellar career with Ole Miss on defense and later the San Francisco 49ers. Willis made 950 tackles, had 20.5 sacks and forced 16 fumbles from 2007-14 in San Francisco. It helped that when Willis arrived in San Francisco the 49ers were coached by Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary.
“My journey began with him at the senior bowl in 2007,” Willis said. “I was kind of worried after my first practice and he called me over to talk to me. He told me that it is one thing to talk about being great and that it is another thing to earn the right to be called great. You have to work towards that every day. I told him I wanted to work toward being a really special player. I believe that he was supposed to be the head coach of the 49ers at that time and I was supposed to be on that time. Everything worked out the way that it was supposed to.”
The majority of the questions surrounding Willis coming out of Ole Miss revolved around his size. Some teams worried that at 6-foot-1 and 240 pounds that Wilis was not going to be an every down player. His play proved all of them wrong and opened the door for others who may be overlooked for similar reasons.
“I heard that I was too small a lot,” Willis said. “I wanted to be an all-purpose linebacker. I didn’t want to ever come off the field. I didn’t want anyone to substitute for me because it was a run play or a pass play. I wanted to be disruptive in all phases of the game. The game has changed a bit since I played but I think people are starting to realize that you don’t need to be 6-foot-4 and be 260 pounds to get the job done as an every down linebacker.”
Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement week often is a whirlwind. Willis has made sure to enjoy every second of it.
“It’s been an amazing week,” Willis said. “I was a young kid from the rural south that just wanted to find a way to make it out and be special. So many people inspired me along the way. I think about my uncle who was a pro boxes. I used to watch him train and he was like a superhero to me. I also had so many coaches that pushed me and made me who I am. They all know who they are. It’s just been an amazing journey.”
Reach Cliff at cliff.hickman@cantonrep.com
On X: @chickmanREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Hall of Famer Patrick Willis focused on defense after 1 college drill
The Repository
