Patrick Willis speaks during the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Aug. 3, 2024, in Canton. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Rather than recount the heroics of spectacular eight-year NFL career, Patrick Willis used the platform of his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame to reveal a personal portrait of the 30th member of the 49ers to be enshrined.
“I know I did not speak of my football accomplishments, nor did I speak in a way you are used to hearing me,” Willis said adorned in his gold jacket Saturday from the podium in Canton, Ohio. “Today I chose to reveal the more intimate side of Patrick Willis, enabling you to see what has supported me my entire life.”
In a ceremony delayed nearly two hours by rain, Willis was enshrined along with defensive end Dwight Freeney, return specialist Devin Hester, wide receiver Andre Johnson, running back Edgerrin James, defensive end Julius Peppers and two seniors candidates, linebacker Randy Gradishar and defensive tackle Steve McMichael.
Willis, 39, began his career in 2007 with one of the most spectacular rookie seasons any defensive player has ever had, registering 174 tackles, winning the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award and becoming the first rookie linebacker to become an Associated Press All-Pro since Dick Butkus in 1965.
The No. 11 overall pick in the draft out of Mississippi, Willis won the Butkus and Jack Lambert Awards as a senior as the nation’s top linebacker and was a consensus All-America selection.
Reinventing the position from old-school gap pluggers to a sideline to sideline presence that excelled against both run and pass, Willis was a Pro Bowl player for seven consecutive years, a member of the 2010s All-Decade Team and a first-team All-Pro five times until a toe injury limited him to six games in 2014.
Willis is one of only four defensive players to be named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first seven seasons, the others being Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants, Derrick Thomas of the Kansas City Chiefs and Aaron Donald of the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams.
Included in the crowd were former 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and linebacker NaVorro Bowman of the Los Angeles Chargers, where Harbaugh is the head coach and Bowman an assistant, as well as former teammates such as Frank Gore, Mike Iupati and others.
Surprisingly, Willis retired at age 29, and his moment of clarity served as the opening for his induction speech.
“I still remember my the last play of my NFL career and what I heard inside me,” Willis said. “I heard, `Job well done, my son, my faithful and loyal servant.’ In that moment, I realized I had completed what I had come to do with the time the Lord had allotted me to play in the National Football League. It’s not necessarily how long you play, but how impactful you are.”
Willis’ often understated persona belied the ferocity he brought to to the field. Willis’ sister Ernicka, who spoke in a video presentation before her brother’s bust was shown to the crowd, described him as “quiet but deadly. No one ever knew he was coming.”
Speaking of their childhood, Ernicka Willis said, “Patrick is never going to be able to be compared to nobody else in the league because he was different. A person would have to know where we came from to know why he made it to where he’s at in his life . . . he was always going to show he can be better than what anybody thought he could be.”
Willis described his upbringing in poverty in Bruceton, Tenn. His mother left the family when Willis was a toddler and his father was an alcoholic. Patrick would care for his sister and younger brothers, serving as an adult at a young age.
“I grew up in the rural south in a duplex trailer at the end of a dirt road with no running water until I was 8 years old,” Willis said. “We lived at the bottom of a hill and my grandparents lived at the top. Every day my siblings and I would carry empty five-gallon plastic buckets up the hill to get water from my grandparents’ house, then carry them back down.
“I remember when I was carrying those buckets, I would tell myself, `If I can make it from here all the way to the house without stopping, I’m going to get stronger’ No doubt I was getting physically stronger, but I didn’t know at the time I was also building inner strength.”
“You cannot cheat the grind, for the grind knows what you put in.” – @PatrickWillis52 #PFHOF24
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Watching television at his grandparents’ as a pre-teen, Willis said he was watching Monday Night Football when he imagined himself running downfield making a tackle.
“A moment later, I heard a voice within me saying, `You will. You are special. You have greatness in you . . . I was 11 years old, my vision clear, my future set. I was going to play in the National Football League.”
A source of inspiration was a video of the career of former Chicago Bears great Walter Payton which included testimonials from opponents and teammates including Jerry Rice, Roger Craig and Mike Singletary. In 2008, Willis remembered the video when he walked on to the field at Candlestick Park.
“I looked to my right, Jerry Rice, to my left, Roger Craig, and right behind me (was) Mike Singletary . . . it was a surreal moment.”
It was Singletary who slipped the gold jacket on to Willis Friday night.
“It as given to me by a leader who taught me linebacker fundamentals and life fundamentals,” Willis said. “Coach, I can year you now, Pat, you are too high son! Get low.' Or telling the team, `Nothing good comes after 10 p.m. thank you coach for teaching me what it would take to be oe a champion on the field and off.”
Willis’ father was an alcoholic who wasn’t in the picture by his late teens. He lived with foster parents Chris and Julie Finley starting at age 17 because of neglect, but went off his original script to speak of his late mother at the close of his 16 minute speech.
“Today is your birthday . . . We didn’t have the best of relationships, but I love you for getting me here and allowing me to go through life as it has been,” Willis said.
Originally published at Jerry McDonald