Patrick Willis was Three-sport Star in Tennessee Before Hall of Fame Pro Career

Editor’s Note: Patrick Willis was one of 12 inductees into the National High School Hall of Fame June 29 at the NFHS Summer Meeting in Salt Lake City.

Patrick Willis was one of Tennessee’s top multi-sport athletes and two-way football players during his days at Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central High School in Bruceton. Willis was a two-way, four-year starter and team captain in football, and four-year starter and one of the school’s all-time leading scorers in basketball. He also played baseball three years and made the all-district team.

In his senior season, Willis was the first and only person in Tennessee history to be nominated for the Mr. Football Award for a lineman, and the Mr. Football Award for a back. He received the Mr. Football-Lineman Award – and for good reason.

During his four years as a linebacker, Willis recorded 465 tackles, 20 sacks, 42 tackles for loss and 13 interceptions – all school records. He also holds the school record for career interception return yards (385). In 2001, he was named to the all-region, all-West Tennessee and all-state teams.

Willis enjoyed equal success on the basketball court. In four years, he scored 1,609 points – ranking second all-time in the modern era. His yearly scoring averages were 10.7, 18.5, 20.5 and 19.0, with a career mark of 17.3 points per game. He also averaged about 10 rebounds and two blocks per game for his career.

Willis’ individual exploits resulted in tremendous team improvement as well. In the three years before Willis arrived at Central High School, the team had a combined 0-68 record. After a 3-19 mark in his first year in 1999-2000, the school became district champions by 2003 and advanced to the regional finals.

Willis played football at the University of Mississippi from 2003 to 2006. As a junior, he led the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in total tackles, and he was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year. As a senior, he led the SEC in tackles again, repeated as Defensive Player of the Year and was named consensus first-team All-American. He was the recipient of both the Dick Butkus Award, given to the most outstanding linebacker in college football, and the Jack Lambert Award.

In the 2007 NFL draft, Willis was selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the 11th pick in the first round. In his first season, he led the NFL with 174 total tackles, along with four sacks and two forced fumbles and was selected to the Pro Bowl. Other honors in his first year included NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, first-team all-pro and Linebacker of the Year.

Willis was selected to the Pro Bowl seven times, was first-team all-pro five times and made the 2010s All-Decade Team. He has been selected to the San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, the Carroll County Sports Hall of Fame, and last year he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Question: You played football, basketball and baseball at Hollow Rock-Central High School. Did you play all sports growing up and did you have a favorite sport?

Willis: “Growing up with my cousins, we pretty much had to play outside all the time. It was something we embraced and enjoyed, whether it was playing front-yard football or basketball. I remember at a young age I would be playing against my uncles. Sports started in the front yard or wherever there was space. Sixth grade was the first time I could play regulation ball, which was football and basketball.

“I enjoyed playing all three sports equally. I was that kid that said one day I’m going to be a pro athlete. I didn’t know if it would be football, basketball or baseball, but I truly enjoyed playing all three. I wish we had had track and field because I would have participated in that as well.”

Question: What were the benefits of playing multiple sports?

Willis: In sports in general there’s so much we learn from it whether it is tenacity or perseverance or toughness. So when you add in multiple sports that just makes you well-rounded as an athlete. I was recruited to Ole Miss not as a linebacker but as an athlete. I credit that to being a multi-faceted athlete. I think it really helped me with my overall game as a football player because I played both basketball and baseball.

Question: You played offense and defense in football. Did you prefer one over the other?

Willis: “Truly, I love both but I love hitting but I also love scoring and making big players in general – whether that’s offense or defense. It was my freshman college year that I made the decision to stay on defense, and that was because I’d rather be the hammer and not the nail.”

Question: What were a couple of your best memories from your high school football career, including the Mr. Football Award for the state of Tennessee?

Willis: “My senior year I played both sides of the ball and my mindset was to win. My goal has always been since the first grade to win a state championship for the Central Tigers. At the end of the year, I was the first person to be nominated for both the Mr. Football offense and defense award. I ended up winning the defense award, but I felt like I should have won the offense award.

“I couldn’t wait to get out on the field and perform when I was in high school. I remember it like it was yesterday, watching the 1989 highlight tape of Central winning the high school championship. It was so spectacular that I said in the first grade, ‘One day that’s going to be me on that field scoring touchdowns and making big tackles’ – and, lo and behold, – I was able do just that. I wasn’t able to win the big dance, which is always the ultimate goal, but I have some great, great memories from my days on the football field at Central High.”

Question: What are a few words that would describe Patrick Willis, the person?

Willis: “I’m a very simple guy. I’m a humble but kind guy. For the most part, I walk in the place of humility and grace. Something my grandmother told me when I was a kid was, ‘treat others as you want to be treated and to always keep my hand in God’s hand.’ I’m not a fierce person, or a ferocious person – just humble and kind.”

Question: What does your induction into the National High School Hall of Fame mean to you?

Willis: “To be inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame is a tremendous honor. To be recognized as one of the great ones who played high school sports is special. So many people have played at the high school level and to be known as one of the great ones is a tremendous honor.”

Bruce Howard is director of publications and communications at the NFHS and editor of High School Today magazine.