Willis Thankful to be a Hurricane
By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Gerald Willis III is thankful.
The redshirt senior is one of the most dominant players in the country this season, but he knows all of his success would not have been possible without the help and support of so many people.
“Without the University of Miami, I don’t think I am the person I am today,” Willis said.
After the 2016 season, Willis’ college football career appeared to be over. His life off the field was in turmoil and he stepped away from the game he loved to get it back on track. But Miami head coach Mark Richt and so many others in the UM athletic department stuck with Willis throughout his difficult time and he has not forgotten about what they did for him.
“Coach Richt, he’s a great guy and he never gave up on me.” Willis said. “There were plenty of times another coach would’ve gave up on me, but not Coach Richt. He always gave me another chance and he believed in me. Coach Richt means everything to me. This staff and Blake James mean everything to me. They always have talked with me and helped me.”
“The people at The U really care about people and they never gave up on me,” Willis said. “I know If I was at another school, I would’ve been gone. The U has done so much for me and my life. I will always be thankful and grateful for what The U has done for me and I will always give back to The U when I get the chance to.”
Willis has given back to the school he loves so much every time he steps on the football field, proving himself to be one of the best interior defensive linemen in America.
“Sometimes I think about it and it’s all just been a dream to me,” Willis said. “I’m just happy it’s real. I’m just blessed, to be honest.”
Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz has lauded Willis all season for his performance on the field, as well as his transformation as a person outside of football.
“As a person, he’s as solid of a human being as we have in our football program right now,” Diaz said. “Always does the right thing, hard worker and a guy that any young guy would want to emulate their career after to become that guy. On the field, a guy who’s made the transition from a person who had talent, which is usually the thing you’re blessed with, talent in high school and then really learned the craft. That’s what I’ve seen with Gerald. I mean a lot of guys, their talent gets them to this level, but their desire to really learn the craft takes them to another level and that’s what I’ve seen from him in the past 12 months. It was probably happening without us watching when he was on the scout team field a year ago. Even that is a selfless act, to go there and be at the needs of the offense a year ago. Since we’ve had him back on our field since spring ball, he’s a guy that every day has just absorbed everything that coach [Jess] Simpson has taught him and taken his game, in my opinion, to an elite level. In my opinion, he’s an All-American.”
The dominant defensive tackle leads the ACC with 17.0 tackles for loss, including 14 solo TFLs. His 55 total tackles are another impressive number for an interior lineman. Willis’ stats are a big reason why Diaz believes he merits national accolades and awards.
“You have to go by something that’s measured,” Diaz said. “You have to measure it, right? How do you measure the impact of that guy? You measure it by the disruption he causes. To have the amount of tackle for losses he has, which I think leads his position, to me that means you’re the best defensive tackle. Well is he just a guy who plays on a not good defense and he’s the only guy that makes plays? No, we’re third in the country on defense ahead of some of those marquee defenses that you would compare us to. You have a guy who’s on the third defense in the country who leads the nation in TFLs as an interior defensive lineman. Is he getting punished because of the number after the dash in our win-loss record? That’s not fair to him. That’s not what All-American should be about. It should be about the best players and not a beauty contest. I hope the voters look at what he’s done and what’s real because the kid deserves it.”
Willis could have never imagined his final collegiate season being so impressive. A year ago he was on the scout team and unsure if he would ever play in a game again. But his hard work and determination on and off the field helped him elevate to unforeseen levels of success.
“To be honest, I didn’t believe,” Willis said. “I just kept working. I just kept working and stuff just kept coming to me. Blessings just kept coming and I kept working. I’m just grateful for the opportunity.”
Now Willis is focused on his final opportunity to play as a Hurricane at Hard Rock Stadium and he wants to make sure he and his fellow seniors get a win over Pitt on Saturday.
“I want to go out with a bang,” Willis said. “Go out with a win. I’m just looking forward to playing my last game at Hard Rock.”
