Pro Football Hall of Famer reveals he wanted to play at Tennessee, and he cried when the Vols told him they weren’t interested
That’s definitely one that got away for the Tennessee Vols.
Hall of Fame linebacker Patrick Willis, who spent his entire career with the San Francisco 49ers, is one of the best defensive players of all time.
Willis, who spent four seasons with the Ole Miss Rebels before getting selected in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft, was the 2006 SEC defensive player of the year, the 2007 NFL defensive rookie of the year, and a five-time All-Pro.
There aren’t many who have been better at the linebacker position.
Willis, a Tennessee native, wasn’t a highly rated recruit (a three-star), so he didn’t have a bevy of offers in high school.
But that didn’t stop him from having big dreams. Willis appeared on Bussin with the Boys this week and detailed his college recruitment, explaining how the Tennessee Vols told him they weren’t interested before he eventually landed at Ole Miss.
Patrick Willis details his college recruitment
“Growing up in Tennessee, the UT Vols…in the early 90s, you would always see the Tennessee Vols, Ohio State, Nebraska, they would always be on TV,” said Willis. “I used to just sit and I would watch. And I’d be like, ‘Man, if I could just get to one of those schools, I know I could get to the next level.”
Willis eventually took an unofficial visit to Tennessee during his senior year of high school in 2002. The Vols’ coaching staff, however, wasn’t very interested in Willis because they were recruiting a pair of higher-rated linebackers — Ernie Sims and Daniel Brooks.
“During the middle of the season, I took two unofficial visits up to UT,” explained Willis. “My dad used to always tell me when I was young, ‘A closed mouth doesn’t get fed’. He would just say that in general. Like, if you want something, [speak up]. So I’m up there my second time, and I notice all the coaches are talking to everybody else, but nobody’s coming over and saying anything to me. And I’m like, ‘I just ran for three touchdowns. I just had 16 tackles, an interception. And I’m not even getting a conversation.’
“So I asked the coach, Coach (Mike) Barry at the time, I said, ‘Coach, why’s nobody speaking to me?’ He says, ‘Truthfully, we’re recruiting two other linebackers.’ And those two other linebackers were damn good linebackers…they were recruiting Daniel Brooks and Ernie Sims. So he tells me, ‘We’re not really interested in you and we also don’t know if you’re going to make your ACT scores.’”
“So [it’s] a five hour drive home, three of those hours I cried,” continued Willis. “I was like, ‘Man, I’ve been told I’m not wanted. How could I be balling out like this and they’re not interested?’ And my foster dad said, ‘Why don’t you wipe up those tears and go play at a school that plays against them.’
“And at that moment, I was like, ‘Yeah, I can do that.’ But then, at the same moment, I was like, ‘But wait, ain’t nobody really recruiting me.’ Nobody was recruiting me that plays against them other than the Memphis Tigers and MTSU.”
“Ultimately, I said, ‘I’m just going to control what I can control. I’m going to go back, I’m going to stay focused on school and on the football field.’ And then out of nowhere, Ole Miss pops up.”
Sims ended up at Florida State and went on to be the No. 6 overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. Brooks, who passed away in 2015, signed with Tennessee. He went through some troubles in Knoxville and eventually had his scholarship revoked before turning his life around at Jackson State.
The story from Willis is wild, but there’s one part of the story that makes it even wilder for Tennessee fans.
Willis noted that the coach at Ole Miss who believed in him the most was then Rebels defensive backs coach Mike MacIntyre, who is the uncle of current Vols redshirt freshman quarterback George MacIntyre.
“I remember the scout from Ole Miss, Coach Mike MacIntyre, he said ‘Regardless of what happens with this (grades), we’re going to stand behind you. Even if you have to go to a JuCo, we’ll be there for you when you get out.’”
Willis ended up getting into Ole Miss immediately out of high school. MacIntyre, meanwhile, landed a job with the Dallas Cowboys in 2003, so he didn’t get to coach Willis at Ole Miss. Still, it’s clear that MacIntyre recognized that Willis was an elite talent.
These kinds of stories happen from time to time — college coaches can’t recruit every player. And when dealing with high school recruits, especially 25 years ago, it’s nearly impossible to predict which one (if any) will be a Hall of Famer. Everyone who has recruited at a high level has passed on a future star before. It’s just part of the job.
But at the same time, you’ve got to credit MacIntyre with sensing something special in Willis.
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