Odell Willis (born December 28, 1984), nicknamed "the Mayor of Swaggerville", is a professional

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

who is a

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 ...

. He was most recently a member of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

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 signed by the

Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divis ...

as a

in 2007. 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 West Georgia Wolves. Willis has also played for the Huntington Heroes, Peoria Pirates, Green Bay Blizzard,

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

, and

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

College career

Willis played four seasons for the

University of West Georgia The University of West Georgia is a public university in Carrollton, Georgia, United States. The university offers a satellite campus in Newnan, Georgia, Newnan, Georgia, select classes at its Douglasville Center, and off-campus Museum Studies c ...

and totaled 126 tackles, 20.5 sacks and six forced fumbles for the Wolves. He was twice named an All-Gulf South Conference selection.

Professional career

af2 and AIFA

Willis was assigned to the

of the

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football r ...

on July 19, 2007. He signed with the Huntington Heroes of the

American Indoor Football Association American Indoor Football (AIF) is a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United ...

in January 2008 and played for the team during the 2008 season. He played for the Peoria Pirates of the af2 later in 2008. In July 2008, he was traded to the Green Bay Blizzard.

Calgary Stampeders

In 2009, Willis signed with the

where he recorded six sacks in his first nine games.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

He was then traded to the

in a package trade, where he recorded another four sacks with the Blue Bombers. In his 2010 campaign, Willis started all 18 games and recorded 11 sacks. During the

2011 CFL season The 2011 CFL season was the 58th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 54th season of the Canadian Football League. The complete schedule was released on February 18 and featured the defending Grey Cup champion Montr ...

, Willis started all 18 games for the second consecutive year and set a new career high with 13 sacks. His performance earned him his first CFL East Division All-Star nod and recognition on his first CFL All-Star team a short while later. Odell Willis on 23 September 2012

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On March 22, 2012, Willis was traded to the

for second and fourth round picks in the 2012 CFL Draft. Willis recorded 6 sacks in the

2012 CFL season The 2012 CFL season was the 59th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 55th season for the Canadian Football League. The pre-season began on June 13, 2012, and the regular season started on June 29, 2012. Rogers Centr ...

Edmonton Eskimos

After not being re-signed following one season with the Roughriders, Willis signed a three-year contract with the

on February 15, 2013 (The first day of CFL free-agency). In his first season with the Eskimos Willis played in 13 of the 18 regular season games. He would finish the season with 22 tackles, 9 quarterback sacks and 1 fumble recovery. Willis' play improved again the following season, earning himself his second CFL All-Star award and his first CFL West All-Star award. His 13 sacks put him tied for 2nd place for most sacks on the season; he also had 32 tackles, 2 interceptions (one for a touchdown) and a fumble recovery. Following the 2014 CFL season, Willis re-signed with the Eskimos.

Ottawa Redblacks

On February 2, 2018, Willis was traded to 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 ...

for fellow defensive lineman, Jake Ceresna. His tenure with the Redblacks lasted 17 minutes.

BC Lions

Shortly after he was traded to the Redblacks, Willis was again traded on February 2, 2018 back to the West Division to the

for a fourth-round pick in the 2018 CFL Draft and a negotiation list player. Willis continued to perform as a pass rushing threat, recording 11 sacks over the season, a personal best since the 2014 season. Following the season Willis re-signed with the Lions for the 2019 CFL season. In 2019, Willis was switched to defensive tackle mid-season, contributing to lower than usual production of four sacks on the year, but he still managed to pass the milestone of 100 career sacks. He became a free agent in 2020, but did not play due to the cancellation of the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the ...

Toronto Argonauts

On February 12, 2021, it was announced that Willis had signed with the

. He was placed on the suspended list on July 20, 2021. He began the season on the suspended list before moving to the practice roster in week 2 of the regular season, but was released on August 17, 2021.

References

External links

Toronto Argonauts bioEdmonton Eskimos bio

Saskatchewan Roughriders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Odell 1984 births Living people American football defensive linemen Calgary Stampeders players Canadian football defensive linemen Edmonton Elks players Green Bay Blizzard players Peoria Pirates players Players of American football from Meridian, Mississippi Players of Canadian football from Mississippi Saskatchewan Roughriders players Spokane Shock players West Georgia Wolves football players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Huntington Heroes players BC Lions players Toronto Argonauts players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen