Gerald Willis III (born August 23, 1995) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

and

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

Early life

Willis was born and raised in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and attended

Edna Karr High School Edna Karr High School is a public, open enrollment, coeducational charter school in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The school is a college preparatory high school and is a part of InspireNOLA Charter Schools and the New Orleans Public ...

. Willis was a standout defensive tackle for the Cougars

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

team and was named the All-New Orleans Large Schools Defensive Player of the Year twice and was an All-America selection as a senior, when he made 107 tackles, including 43 for a loss and 15 sacks. He was widely considered to be one of the top defensive line prospects in his class and committed to play college football at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

over offers from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, and

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, among others.

College career

Willis began his college career at

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He appeared in five games as a freshman, making 14 tackles. Willis forced a key red zone fumble in the Gators' 28–20 win in the 2015 Birmingham Bowl over

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

. After the season, Florida announced that Willis was dismissed from the team after several on and off the field incidents. Willis transferred to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

after his dismissal and sat out the 2015 season due to NCAA transfer rules. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

sophomore, Willis made 19 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in nine games before tearing his MCL, an injury that caused him to miss the entire 2017 season. He was named second-team All-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC) and named second-team All-America by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' in his redshirt senior season after making 59 tackles, 18 of which were for loss, with four sacks.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

Despite being projected to be a mid-round pick, Willis went unselected in the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

. He signed with the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

shortly after the conclusion of the draft on April 27, 2019. Willis was released by the

on August 31, 2019.

Miami Dolphins

Willis was signed to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

practice squad on September 2, 2019, but was waived two days later. The Dolphins re-signed Willis to their practice squad on September 23, 2019. He was promoted to the active roster on November 20, 2019. Willis made his NFL debut on November 24, 2019 against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on December 13, 2019. Willis finished his rookie season with two tackles in two games played. Willis was released by the Dolphins on April 18, 2020.

Green Bay Packers

Willis was claimed off waivers by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

on April 21, 2020. He was waived on July 26, 2020.

Orlando Guardians

On November 17, 2022, Willis was drafted by the

Orlando Guardians The Orlando Guardians were a professional American football team based in Orlando, Florida. The Guardians competed in the XFL (2020), XFL. The team was founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment as the New York Guardians and were owned-and-o ...

of the XFL. The Guardians folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).

Ottawa Redblacks

On April 23, 2024, Willis signed with the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He was released on May 7, 2024.

Personal life

Willis is the younger brother of

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

Landon Collins Landon Alexander Collins (born January 10, 1994) is an American former professional football player who was a safety and linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he was a pa ...

of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

NFL career statistics

Regular season

References

External links

*
Florida Gators bioMiami Hurricanes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Gerald 1995 births Living people American football defensive tackles Florida Gators football players Miami Hurricanes football players Players of American football from New Orleans Baltimore Ravens players Miami Dolphins players Green Bay Packers players Orlando Guardians players Ottawa Redblacks players Canadian football defensive linemen Players of Canadian football from New Orleans