Patrick L. Willis: The NFL Hero

Video: The Secret Story of Patrick L. Willis.

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 has earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors in all five years he has played in the NFL. He is the only player to receive the Butkus Award for best linebacker in more than one category. He won the college Butkus Award in 2006 while at Ole Miss and in 2009, he won the professional Butkus Award while with the San Francisco 49ers.

Patrick Willis is regarded by many as the best inside linebacker in professional football.

Early life
Born in Bruceton, Tennessee, Willis attended Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central High School,[5] where he was a two-time All-State selection, Regional Most Valuable Player, and West Tennessee Player of the Year. He earned 4 letters in football and basketball, and 3 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.

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.

College career
“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.”
-former Mississippi coach Ed Orgeron.

Willis attended the University of Mississippi (“Ole Miss”), and played for the Ole Miss Rebels football team. As a freshman at Ole Miss, Willis played in all 13 games, making 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 TFLs (tackles-for-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 TFLs, three sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Willis was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year by CollegeFootballNews.com[8] and Scout.com. He was also named as a first-team All-American by CollegeFootballNews.com and the All-American Football Foundation.[9] Willis earned first-team All-SEC honors from Associated Press, SEC Coaches, CollegeFootballNews.com and Rivals.com.

http://americanfootball.wikia.com/wiki/Patrick_Willis