FAB 2. BUCS MAY SEE A STRAHAN-LIKE PLAYER IN WILLIS
I begin this section of my SR’s Fab 5 with a big disclosure. I am a Kansas State alumnus, but I don’t have my purple-colored lenses on when I do don’t draft analysis.

And by the way, you’re welcome for Martin “Automatica” Gramatica, Bucs fans.

Sorry about Josh Freeman.

I’m not here to sell you on K-State defensive end Jordan Willis, who is one of the fastest-rising players in the pre-draft process. Willis has done a mighty fine job of selling himself to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the rest of the NFL during his senior season.

K-State DE Jordan Willis – Photo by: Getty Images

Did you see his performance at the NFL Scouting Combine, which was just as good as that of defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, the No. 1 overall pick of the Houston Texans in 2014.

The 6-foot-4, 255-pound Willis ran a 4.53 in the 40-yard dash, which was tops among all defensive linemen this year at the Combine. That’s what Clowney ran four years ago.

Willis had a 39-inch vertical leap. Again, tops among all defensive linemen.

Willis’ 6.85-second three-cone drill and 4.28 time in the 20-yard shuttle were also the best of any defensive lineman in Indianapolis.

To say that the Wildcats star blew up at the Combine was an understatement. Once viewed as a third- or fourth-round pick, Willis could very well be in play as a second-rounder in the 2017 NFL Draft due to his athletic prowess. He likely went from a top-100 player to a top-50 player after one afternoon in Indy.

“I was happy with my performance,” Willis said. “I knew my athleticism going in there. Some guys will announce what they’re going to run before going in there. I was just going with the flow. There’s always going to be some negative press – even when you get some really good numbers. Is it going to translate to the field? They’ll say, ‘Well, he ran fast in the 40 going straight, but can he change direction?’ Then I change direction well and it’s something else to pick apart. It is what it is.

“Everything that happened at the Combine happened in my training with my guys Mark Simoneau and Will Shields. Some of the stuff, like my 40-yard dash, in my training I had run faster and it was on an electronic clock, as well. I ran a 4.51, but I don’t really talk about it a lot because there’s no proof behind it outside of an electric clock and my trainer running it. Some of the change of direction stuff – the three-cone drill and the 5-10-5 – I did well on those, but those weren’t my best times. It’s the same with my broad jump. It wasn’t my best, but I’m happy with my numbers.”

K-State DE Jordan Willis – Photo by: KSU Sports Information

Don’t think that Willis is some workout warrior. With 26 career sacks, Willis ranks third on the all-time sack list at K-State behind long-time NFL veteran Darren Howard (29.5) and Nyle Wiren (27.5). His 11.5 sacks last year ties Wiren, Ian Campbell and Ryan Mueller for the most in a single season in Wildcats history.

“I tied the record in the bowl game, but I was robbed of two other sacks in that game,” Willis said, noting that a couple of his sacks of Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight were considered tackles for loss on running plays because Knight is a scrambler. “In my opinion, I am the record holder. It won’t go down in the record books, but it’s an accomplishment. It is what it is. I put that behind me and the goal is to keep getting sacks and keep getting to the quarterback at the next level.”

In addition to his 26 sacks, Willis also had 114 tackles, seven passes defenses, seven forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries at K-State. Willis’ first tackle in college football was a sack as a freshman in a 41-7 drubbing of Iowa State in 2013. In his first start the following year he recorded a sack against Stephen F Austin in a 55-16 win.

Willis had nine multiple-sack games at K-State, including a school record 3.5 sacks in a 39-33 3OT win in 2015 against a Louisiana Tech team that had NFL defensive tackle Vernon Butler, a first-round pick, running back Kenneth Dixon, a third-round pick, quarterback Jeff Driskel, a sixth-round pick, and a pair of NFL Draft prospects in wide receivers Carlos Henderson and Trent Taylor.

After a 9.5-sack junior campaign in which he forced four fumbles, Willis returned for his senior year where he recorded at least one sack in eight of 13 games, in addition to three forced fumbles. It’s that type of production – along with his athleticism – that led Bucs assistant defensive line coach Paul Spicer to Manhattan, Kans. on Tuesday to attend Willis’ pro day and put him through some defensive line drills.

“We did some D-line stuff, some bag work and some change of direction stuff,” said Willis, who stood on all of his testing numbers at the Combine. “If I had to grade myself I would say A-minus to B-plus. It was a good day. There were two coaches that ran the drills – the D-line coach in Philadelphia, and the D-line coach in Tampa Bay, Paul Spicer. They both told me I had a good day. Coach Spicer told me about his time playing with the Jacksonville Jaguars and what’s going on down in Tampa. He’s a cool guy.”

Willis, who also did linebacker drills for Bengals linebackers coach Jim Haslett at his pro day and performed well, learned a lot from talking with Spicer.

Bucs assistant DL coach Paul Spicer – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Our conversation was really talking about technique and what he thought I could improve on,” Willis said. “The thing he said I do well is that I have a good concept of how to rush the passer. He told me that can go a long way. Of course I have some improvements to make and I understand that. There’s a lot of work that can be done to make me better.

“He said I can do a better job with my outside arm and getting my hips flipped. That’s just a matter of practice and working on fundamentals, but he said all of that stuff can be fixed. He likes my effort to the football. He likes the fact that I use my hands well and that I’m aggressive with my shed. I attack. My good outweighs my bad. I liked our conversation and he gave me some advice on a few things. His tips will get me to the quarterback quicker. It will take me from getting a quarterback hurry to a quarterback sack just by getting my hips turned quicker.”

If there is a knock on Willis, who is Pro Football Focus’ top edge rusher over the last two years, and why he’s not a first-rounder it’s because he’s been labeled as being too stiff. I’ve watched nearly every K-State game and Willis has overrun his share of sacks because he hasn’t turned the corner quick enough from his left defensive end position.

“Some of the D-line coaches that I met with at the Combine say they are going to go back and look at my film,” Willis said. “The film might show a little stiffness here or a little wide bending the corner, but I’ve had nine weeks of offseason work to where I’ve been working on flexibility. When I went to the Combine the two drills that showed changed of direction I finished at the top of the board. When I’m doing linebacker drills, I’m doing some of those drills better than the linebackers – and I’m not even a linebacker.

“So people tell me that’s because I’m stiff or have stiffness in my ankles. I wish I could explain that to more people and get that out there more. The perception of me is that I’m stiff. Michael Strahan was stiff. I could name a lot of guys that had the look of stiffness to them, but were still great football players. I’m not comparing myself to Strahan, but that’s the first name that comes to mind because a lot of people compare me to the way he played. At the end of the day, it’s not stiffness so much as it is learning how to coach your body to be able to bend and go certain places it’s not natural for it to go. I’ve been working on that and I’m going to put myself in that position.”

K-State DE Jordan Willis – Photo by: KSU Sports Information

In fact, if you’re looking for an NFL comparison, start with Miami defensive end Cameron Wake, Willis’ favorite defensive end to study on film, or even Strahan, a former second-round pick by the New York Giants who turned into a Pro Football Hall of Famer. Here is the Giants’ scouting report from director of player personnel Tom Boistune on the 40th overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft:

A tall, gd looking athlete who needs bulk &additional stg for next level–He has plenty of QAB’s spd & change of direction to be a VG pass rusher–No reason why he can’t grow into a power rush, neutralize & control LOS type–An upfield player for Texas So/not a leverage player & runs self out of too many plays–Michael is agg & works hard in pursuit–Potential to be a top player in NFL–A situational pass rusher 1st yr-Sr Bowl/Indy workout helped his grade. (Compiled from reports by scouts Jerry Shay, Jeremiah Davis, Greg Gabriel.)

Sounds kind of similar to Willis, doesn’t it? Outside of Temple linebacker Hassan Reddick and UConn safety Obi Melifonwu, no other defensive player has helped himself more this offseason than Willis, who had two sacks and two forced fumbles at the Senior Bowl to claim Defensive Player of the Game honors.

“I don’t like to talk about myself, but people doubt me,” Willis said. “I’m a humble guy, but I was the Defensive Player of the Year in the Big 12 and the Defensive Lineman of the Year, too, and people will say that the level of competition in the Big 12 wasn’t that good. Then I go to the Senior Bowl and was named the Defensive Player of the Game, and people will say all the best offensive tackles this year weren’t at the Senior Bowl. Then I go to the Combine and I run fast going straight ahead and they say I can’t change direction. Then I change direction in the drills and people say I look stiff on film. At the end of the day I accept that my perception of who I am is who I am. If people me in as a second-round pick, a third-round pick or a fourth-round pick, my goal is to train as hard as I can, go to an NFL team and give it my all. That’s been my mentality all through school and this process.

“My mentality going into the Combine was I’m not going to take second place. I’m not going to accept second. I’m going to keep pressing along. I have the resume of a guy that has done everything the right way. People call me a blue-collar player or hard worker and I embrace those terms. Sometimes guys get crowned king and some guys have to earn it. I’m one of those guys that has to earn it. It’s been like that my whole life and it’s going to be like that my whole life until I’m done playing this game.”

Tennessee DE Derek Barnett – Photo by: Getty Images

If it sounds like Willis has a chip on his shoulder, he does. He sees the likes of Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett, Stanford’s Soloman Thomas, Tennessee’s Derek Barnett and Missouri’s Charles Harris – players Willis has matched or bested athletically and in terms of production – and wonders why he isn’t getting first-round consideration.

“If I’m jumping and running faster than some of these guys and I have the production to match, how come I’m not up there?” Willis said. “It just doesn’t add up. I understand my path is going to be built around showing people just how much better I am than people perceive me to be.

“Myles Garrett is a great football player and he deserves to be where he is. I remember the Iowa State game they double-teamed me the entire game. There was some bad press that came out and said that I didn’t make any plays, but they had two guys on me the entire game and that wasn’t talked about. It wasn’t like a chip. It was the tackle and a back the whole game. Then that happens to Myles Garrett in our bowl game and that’s all they talked about – how he got chipped and doubled. If I don’t make plays when that happens I’m not a good football player, but others if they don’t, they give them the benefit of the doubt a lot.”

Part of the reason why Willis went to K-State was because they are the perennial underdogs in the Big 12 and in college football. But the Wildcats work hard and overachieve. Some of the program’s biggest success stories – Minnesota cornerback Terence Newman and Philadelphia running back Darren Sproles – were three-star players coming out of high school. Green Bay wide receiver Jordy Nelson was actually a walk-on for the Wildcats.

Willis himself was a Rivals.com three-star rated player.

“I enjoy the underdog role,” Willis said. “That makes this process so much more fun. There are some guys in this draft that have their path laid out for them. They know that they’re going to be ‘the guy’ and everything is going to happen for them. I guarantee that Tom Brady is enjoying his career more than most guys because he’s put so much more into than other guys have. He’s reaping the benefits of it. I love working, so putting all the work in and seeing what becomes of it is fun. But I don’t do the work for accolades. I do the work to get better.”

Wildcats Hall of Fame coach Bill Snyder heaped some high praise on Willis.

K-State DE Jordan Willis – Photo by: KSU Sports Information

“Numerous times I have shared with our players that Jordan was the epitome of what our program is all about,” Snyder told the Topeka Capital-Journal. “He comes to practice exactly the same way he goes to a ballgame and if you were unaware of the setting you couldn’t tell the difference between what he does on the practice field and what he does on the game field.

“He’s a young guy who gives you his very best every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every week.”

Willis graduated with his degree in sociology/criminology last December and was excused from K-State’s Texas Bowl preparation practice that day. Willis showed up to practice on graduation day anyways.

“I didn’t say a word to him,” Snyder said when he saw Willis on the practice field. “It didn’t surprise me a bit that he was there.”

“This is my life, Kansas State and football,” Willis said. “There’s other stuff that is important, too, but this is what I love doing. It didn’t feel right for me not to go to practice. We were having time off the last couple of days and I didn’t know what to do with myself because this is what I want to do. It means a lot to me.”

Not only did Willis practice on graduation day, he put in work in the film room and the weight room, too.

“I’ve probably watched every single NFL defensive end at some point and every single college defensive end at some point,” Willis told the Topeka Capital-Journal. “That’s how much film I watch. I just like try to take away as much as I can from other guys.

“I lift as much as I can because I want to be as strong as I possibly can. The most important thing is practice. You have to take practice serious and can’t have a bad day.”

Now you can see why the Bucs are interested in the Kansas City, Mo. native.

He’s athletic.

He’s hard working.

He’s productive.

And he gets to the quarterback.

“I didn’t meet with the Bucs at the Combine and I asked Coach Spicer about that,” Willis said. “He said that I have a clean rap sheet and I haven’t gotten in trouble. The Bucs don’t have any questions about my character and that I do things the right way, so that’s why they didn’t meet with me.”

Bucs DE Noah Spence and DT Gerald McCoy sack Seahawks QB Russell Wilson – Photo by: Getty Images

Willis said he would love to be drafted by Tampa Bay in the second round. He told me he’s visiting One Buccaneer Place on April 10 as one of the Bucs’ 30 prospects they are allowed to bring in to the facility before the draft.

“I know about Gerald McCoy, who went to Oklahoma,” Willis said. “He’s a Big 12 guy. He’s a real good player. I watch him because of his takeoff, his moves and his relentlessness to the quarterback. He would be a great guy I could learn from if I was down in Tampa. I also know of Noah Spence. Didn’t he go to Ohio State? I’ve watched him. He’s a pretty good football player. And of course I know about some of their offensive guys like Jameis Winston and Mike Evans, too. It would be cool to play for Coach Spicer and be a Buccaneer.”

I would like to see Willis in red and pewter, too, and not just because he’s a K-Stater. For a team like the Buccaneers that could use one more young pass rusher, the athletic, hard-working Willis sure can get to the quarterback.