Ole Miss Football: Patrick Willis Named To College Football Hall Of Fame

Former Ole Miss football and San Francisco 49ers great Patrick Willis has been selected to the 2019 class of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Monday the National Football Foundation announced the inductees for the 2019 class of the College Football Hall of Fame. Former Ole Miss football great Patrick Willis was one of 13 former college football First Team All-Americans who were selected to be inducted along with two former elite college coaches.

The selection to find the 13 former college greats and the two former standout coaches was a tedious one for the selection committee. The selections for the 2019 class came from a national ballot which consisted of 76 college football All-Americans and six elite and outstanding coaches within the FBS and then 100 players and 32 coaches from divisional ranks.

More On Patrick Willis

Ole Miss Rebels

If you were a fan of Ole Miss football from 2003 thru 2006 then you were fortunate enough to watch one of the greatest players in Ole Miss history. During his days as a Ole Miss Rebel Patrick Willis became a fan favorite as one of the greatest LBs in program history.

Patrick Willis lettered four years at the linebacker position and was prolific at the position being known for his fierce style of ‘headhunter’ play. Willis was selected as a First Team All-American in both his junior and senior seasons.

Willis, in his senior season, was consensus All-American while winning both the Butkus and Lambert Trophies which are awarded annually to the top linebacker in the nation. Willis was drafted as the 11th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers where he spent 8 seasons.

In 2007 Willis was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and over his outstanding career was named to seven NFL Pro Bowls. Willis was also named All-Pro five times during his NFL career. Willis ended his NFL career with 950 combined tackles with 732 tackles coming solo. Willis finished with 20.5 sacks and 16 forced fumbles with 5 fumbles recovered and 8 interceptions. Willis also had 2 defensive TDs during his career.

Rebels In The CFB HOF

Patrick Willis is the 10th former Ole Miss player or coach to be selected into the College Football Hall of Fame. When you look at this list of former Rebels selected then you can see Willis is in the elite company of some of the greatest Rebels of all time.

• Bruiser Kinard
• Charlie Conerly
• Barney Poole
• Johnny Vaught
• Doug Kenna
• Thad Vann
• Archie Manning
• Parker Hall
• Jake Gibbs
• Charlie Flowers
• Wesley Walls
• Patrick Willis

Monday night you can catch Patrick Willis in action as part of the coin toss in the College Football National Championship game. Congratulations to Patrick ‘P-Willie’ Willis on this tremendous and very deserving honor and thank you for all the moments and memories you have given us. Hotty Toddy!