Peter Tom Willis (born January 4, 1967) is an American former 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 ...
player who was a
quarterback
The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) and
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
(AFL). 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 State Seminoles
The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...
and was selected by the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
in the third round of the
1990 NFL draft. After four years with the Bears, he played in the AFL for the
Tampa Bay Storm
The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...
. From 1998 to 2008 he served as the radio
color commentator
A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...
for the Seminoles.
Willis lives in
Valrico, Florida and is an industrial buyer for Commercial Metals Company at their Tampa facility.
College career
Originally from
Morris, Alabama
Morris is a town in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is north of the Birmingham suburb of Gardendale. It initially incorporated on September 19, 1885. At some point after 1910, its incorporation lapsed and it failed to appear on th ...
and
Mortimer Jordan High School, Willis was inducted as a member of the Florida State University Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. During his successful senior year in 1989 (his first and only season as the
starting quarterback), he led the team to 10 straight victories, including an impressive 41–17 win over the
Nebraska Cornhuskers in the
Fiesta Bowl. It was also during that year that he set 15 team passing records. He surpassed fellow Seminole Hall of Famer
Gary Huff to become Florida State's top single season passer with 3,124 yards. He also set the record for passes completed in a season (211), most 300-yard passing games (six), as well as touchdown passes in a game (six). Willis also set five Florida State career records including best passing efficiency at 148.5.
Willis' senior season saw the Seminoles lose their first two games before coming back with 10-straight wins over the likes of
Syracuse,
Auburn,
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 ...
and
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 ...
. On a team that many considered the nation's best at year's end, Willis helped put the exclamation point on that notion with a 41–17 win over Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl.
College statistics
Regular season
Professional career
After college, Willis played professional football for the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
's
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
and the
Tampa Bay Storm
The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...
of the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
.
Commentating career
Willis worked in the broadcast booth as a color analyst with "the voice of the Seminoles", long time FSU
play-by-play
In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...
announcer
Gene Deckerhoff. His signature was to praise a player's performance by saying "I see you, (''name of player'')!" Following ten years of service, his contract was not renewed after the 2007–2008 football season because the Florida State administration and coaches felt he was "too critical" of the program.
Head coach
Bobby Bowden stood by this decision,
and said "I do support it. I support it all the way."
"They felt like I was too critical of the program and the team the last few years," Willis said. "I hate that. That was not my intent. My intent was to call it like I see it for 10 years. But if people are upset with me because I was telling the truth, if that's going to upset people, maybe I shouldn't be there."
Willis is a member of the FSU Sports Hall of Fame and a former quarterback who led the Seminoles to a 10–2 record and No. 3 ranking in 1989.
He was critical of the offense under former coordinator
Jeff Bowden, and regretted saying that the Seminoles resembled a "high school offense" during the 2005 game at Clemson.
That comment especially upset coach
Bobby Bowden, according to sources.
Willis believed that the program, with the hiring of
Jimbo Fisher, was headed in the right direction.
References
External links
NFL statsAFL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Peter
1967 births
Living people
Players of American football from Jefferson County, Alabama
American football quarterbacks
Florida State Seminoles football players
Florida State University alumni
Chicago Bears players
Tampa Bay Storm players
American sports announcers
Sportspeople from Valrico, Florida
Players of American football from Hillsborough County, Florida
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players