Patrick L Willis was born on January 25,1985 and is an American former professional football player who spent his entire eight-year career as a middle linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League.
52 Facts About Patrick Willis
2.
Patrick Willis was drafted by the 49ers in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft.
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Patrick Willis played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels and received consensus All-American honors.
4.
Patrick Willis made the Pro Bowl in his first seven seasons in the NFL, and earned All-Pro honors in his first six years.
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Patrick Willis won the college Butkus Award in 2006 while at Ole Miss and in 2009, he won the professional Butkus Award while with the 49ers.
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Patrick 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.
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Patrick Willis earned four letters in football and basketball, and three in baseball.
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Patrick Willis was the first person in Tennessee state history to be nominated for both the Mr Football Award for a Lineman and the Mr Football Award for a Back in the same season.
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Patrick Willis just gets in there and does his job every day and makes everybody around him better.
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Patrick Willis attended the University of Mississippi, and played for the Ole Miss Rebels football team from 2003 to 2006.
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Patrick Willis received the Scholar-Athlete Award from the Ole Miss chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame.
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Patrick Willis recorded 70 tackles, and led the team with 11.0 tackles for a loss and five sacks.
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Patrick Willis finished season with 128 total tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
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Patrick Willis was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year by CollegeFootballNews.
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Patrick Willis was named as a first-team All-American by College Football News and the All-American Football Foundation.
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Patrick Willis earned first-team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press, SEC Coaches, CollegeFootballNews.
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Patrick Willis was awarded SEC Defensive Player of the Year, first-team All-SEC, and consensus first-team All-American.
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Patrick Willis won the Conerly Trophy, voted upon by the media in Mississippi and awarded to the best college football player in Mississippi.
19.
Originally regarded as a late-first to early-second round draft pick, Patrick 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.
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Patrick Willis posted a 39-inch vertical jump and recorded 22 repetitions of the 225-lb.
21.
Patrick Willis clocked in at 4.38 seconds for his 40-yard dash during his University of Mississippi pro-day workout.
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Patrick Willis earned South Team Defensive MVP honors at the 2007 Senior Bowl.
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Patrick Willis was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round with the 11th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, re-uniting him with the staff that coached his South Squad at the 2007 Senior Bowl.
24.
Patrick Willis was awarded the GMC Defensive Player of the Week twice.
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Patrick Willis finished the 2007 campaign with an NFL-leading 174 total tackles, along with four sacks, two forced fumbles, and five passes deflected.
26.
Patrick Willis was the only rookie in the NFL to make the AP All-Pro squad and the first defensive rookie from the 49ers to make the Pro Bowl since Ronnie Lott in 1981.
27.
Patrick Willis's season was capped by being named one of ESPN The Magazine's "NEXT" athletes of 2008, alongside Yankee Joba Chamberlain and Trail Blazer Brandon Roy.
28.
Patrick Willis was voted second-team All-Pro, barely missing the first team as Jon Beason of Carolina Panthers collected one more vote than Willis.
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Patrick Willis started the season strong in the opener against the Arizona Cardinals.
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Patrick Willis had a huge game in week 4 against St Louis finishing with 8 tackles, 2.5 sacks and an interception return for a 23-yard touchdown.
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Patrick Willis was the league leader in impact plays with a total of 27.
32.
Patrick Willis has now led the league in tackles in two of his first three seasons.
33.
However, shortly before the Pro Bowl, which was set in South Florida, Patrick Willis decided to play it safe and opted not to play due to a leg injury he sustained.
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Patrick Willis stayed in South Florida for the game and stood on the sideline in support of the NFC team and 49er teammates Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, Justin Smith and Andy Lee.
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Patrick Willis was named the 2009 NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year, an award voted on by past NFL linebackers.
36.
Patrick Willis became the second NFL player to win the Butkus Award since it was expanded in 2008 to include high school and professional winners in part to help end anabolic steroid abuse among young athletes.
37.
In 2010, Patrick Willis strengthened a dimension of his game, totaling a career-high 6.0 sacks.
38.
Patrick Willis played through the season with several injuries, playing a game against the San Diego Chargers with a cast on his broken hand.
39.
Patrick Willis was ruled out for Week 17 after undergoing a second surgery on his broken right hand.
40.
Patrick Willis had made a habit of making it to the Pro Bowl.
41.
Patrick Willis had gone all four seasons of his NFL career and even with his tackle numbers down, Willis still finished with the second-most fan votes for inside linebackers in the entire NFL.
42.
Patrick Willis joins Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott as only 49ers to be selected to the Pro Bowl in each of their first four seasons.
43.
In 2011, Patrick Willis led a top ranked 49ers defense which set an NFL single season record of not allowing a rushing touchdown until week 16.
44.
Patrick Willis improved his game significantly in coverage recording a career-high 12 pass deflections.
45.
Patrick Willis was named to his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl and becomes the first player in franchise history to make five Pro Bowl appearances to start a career.
46.
Patrick Willis led the 49ers into the postseason for a second straight year.
47.
Patrick Willis had 29 combined tackles and a sack during the 2012 postseason.
48.
Patrick Willis started the first three games of the season, but then had a groin injury in Week 3.
49.
Patrick Willis played in six games of the 2014 season hampered by a nagging toe injury.
50.
Patrick Willis was separated from his biological father at the age of 17, with his mother leaving him when he was a child, and along with his three siblings moved in with his parental guardians, Patrick Willis' high school basketball coach, Chris Finley, and his wife, Julie.
51.
Patrick Willis's uncle, Arthur Willis, was a professional super middleweight boxer who later fought future world champion James Toney to a split decision.
52.
Patrick Willis holds a degree in criminal justice and envisions a future in law enforcement.