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2007 Senior Bowler Willis
Named NFL Defensive
Rookie Of The Year
Former Ole Miss linebacker was coached by
49ers head coach Mike Nolan and his staff during Senior Bowl Week 2007
and led NFL in tackles with 174.
MOBILE, Ala. (January 4, 2008) --
One of the biggest success stories of the 2007 Under Armour Senior Bowl
was linebacker Patrick Willis.
On Friday, that story reached its climax
when the San Francisco 49ers linebacker and NFL tackle leader in 2007
was named the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year.
“It’s confirmation of what you’ve being
doing as an individual,” Willis told the Associated Press on Friday.
“From an individual perspective, it would be good for people that
doubted or didn’t know if you could be a No. 1 draft pick, or if you
could come into the league and do well because of your size or where you
might have played ball at…and show them that if you put your mind to it,
you’re capable of anything.”
2007 NFL Defensive Rookie Of The Year,
San Francisco 49ers linebacker
Patrick Willis
The former Ole Miss star spent Senior Bowl
Week 2007 impressing San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Nolan and his
coaching staff, who coached Willis’ Senior Bowl South squad in the 2007
contest.
The 49ers went on to select him with the
11th overall pick of the first-round of the 2007 NFL Draft, and they
quickly found out he would have one of the biggest impacts of any rookie
during the 2007 season.
A dynamic presence from his very first
practice with the 49ers, he recorded 11 tackles in the 49ers’ opening
game of the year and by season’s end opponents were scheming to avoid
him.
He went on to record ten double-digit
tackle games, topped by a 20-tackle, two-sack effort in week 16 against
Tampa Bay, and ended up leading the NFL in total tackles with 174 – 33
more than any other defender.
Willis earned 48 votes on Friday for the
award from a nationwide poll of 50 media members who regularly cover the
NFL.
“The good Lord has blessed me with skills
that are uncommon, but are just something that I do naturally,” said
Willis. “I also know I couldn’t do it by myself, without help from my
fellow linebackers or that D-line. Knowing that, I just stay humble.
Whether it’s in the movies or whether it’s real life, you see guys that
got bigheaded, and they’re in for a rude awakening.”
The former Ole Miss star spent Senior Bowl
Week 2007 impressing San Francisco 49ers
head coach Mike Nolan and his coaching staff.
Willis is also the second straight Senior
Bowl player to win the award, as Texans’ linebacker DeMeco Ryans, a
former Alabama star, was named the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year
in 2006.
Several other 2007 Senior Bowl players
enjoyed outstanding rookie campaigns with many earning starting spots on
their new NFL clubs this year.
In addition to Willis, Dallas Cowboys
kicker Nick Folk also made the 2008 NFL Pro Bowl roster. Linebacker
David Harris of the New York Jets recorded 127 tackles, which ranked
eighth in the NFL, wide receiver Dwayne Bowe was the NFL’s leading
rookie receiver with 70 catches for 995 yards, and defensive back Leon
Hall of the Bengals ranked among the league leaders with five
interceptions.
The next showcase of future NFL stars is
scheduled for Saturday, January 26, 2008, when the 59th annual Under
Armour Senior Bowl will take place in Mobile’s Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
The contest will kickoff at 3:00 p.m. and
the game will be nationally televised by the NFL Network.
Tickets to the contest are currently on
sale at all area Food World stores, selected Regions Bank branches, by
calling 251-432-4109 or by accessing the bowl’s website at
www.seniorbowl.com.
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