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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.”
Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024 enshrinee Patrick Willis talks during a press conference at The Canton Repository, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024.
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…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/hall-fame-linebacker-patrick-willis-224545231.html
Author : The Repository
Publish date : 2024-08-02 22:45:45
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