Derrick Willies

Derrick Willies (born October 17, 1994) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Texas Tech.

Derrick Willies
Willies with the Cleveland Browns in 2018
Free agent
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1994-10-17) October 17, 1994
Banning, California
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:207 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school:Rock Island
(Rock Island, Illinois)
College:Texas Tech
Undrafted:2018
Career history
Career NFL statistics as of 2018
Receptions:3
Receiving yards:61
Receiving touchdowns:0
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Willies attended and played high school football and ran track at Burlington High School in Iowa before transferring Rock Island High School during his junior year and was named all-state at both schools. In track, Willies won the Illinois Class 3A state championship in the 110-meter hurdles.[1]

College career

Willies began his college career at the University of Iowa. After sitting out his first year, Willies had 4 catches for 71 yards and a touchdown as a redshirt freshman before leaving the team in late October.[2] Willies transferred to Trinity Valley Community College where he was a first team Junior College Athletic Association All-American and subsequently transferred to Texas Tech.[3] Willies caught 36 passes for 592 yards and five touchdowns over two seasons with the Red Raiders.[4]

Professional career

Willies was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent on May 4, 2018.[5] Willies made the Browns 53-man roster and made his NFL debut on September 9, 2018 during the team's season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.[6] On October 7 against the Baltimore Ravens, Willies caught his first career NFL pass, a 13-yard reception, and had a pivotal 39-yard reception in overtime to set up the Browns' game-winning field goal.[7][8] After fracturing his collarbone during practice on October 12, Willies was placed on injured reserve on October 13, 2018.[9]

On August 31, 2019, Willies was waived by the Browns and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[10][11] His practice squad contract with the team expired on January 6, 2020.[12]

References
  1. Batterson, Steve (May 6, 2018). "RI grad Willies gets a shot with Browns". Dispatch-Argus-QCOnline. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  2. Morehouse, Marc (October 27, 2018). "Willies announces transfer on Instagram". The Gazette. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  3. Caplan, Jeff (March 28, 2016). "Transfer receiver Derrick Willies is giving Texas Tech high hopes". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  4. Levins, Matt (April 30, 2018). "Willies signs with Cleveland". The Hawk Eye. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  5. "Browns sign 13 undrafted free agents". ClevelandBrowns.com. May 4, 2018.
  6. "Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns - September 9th, 2018-Snap counts". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  7. "Ravens vs. Browns:Play-by-Play". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  8. McDonald, Charles (October 7, 2018). "The Browns finally won a Sunday game, but not without plenty of drama". SB Nation. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  9. "Browns sign WR Breshad Perriman, place Derrick Willies on IR, make other roster moves". ClevelandBrowns.com. October 13, 2018.
  10. "Browns cut roster to 53 players". ClevelandBrowns.com. August 31, 2019.
  11. "Browns announce nine additions to practice squad". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 1, 2019.
  12. @HBalzer721 (January 7, 2020). "Browns practice-squad contracts expired Monday: DB Tigie Sankoh; WR Derrick Willies" (Tweet). Retrieved January 9, 2020 – via Twitter.
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