Coaches Honor Willis

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For the second time this week, Ole Miss senior linebacker Patrick Willis was named the Southeastern Conference’s top defensive player. Willis was recognized by the league’s coaches on Wednesday after earning SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors by The Associated Press on Monday.

Willis, a native of Bruceton, Tenn., led the SEC in tackles for the second-straight season. This year he was the only SEC defender to average more than 10 tackles a game with 11.4. His 137 stops rank sixth in the nation, and he’s third in solo tackles with more than seven a game. The winner of this year’s Conerly Trophy (awarded to the state of Mississippi’s top player), Willis is also a finalist for the Butkus Award and was a runner-up for the Nagurski Award.