Willis Answering Questions
When he was offered questions immediately began to arise about Arlington (Texas) Martin tight end Brayden Willis.
What position will he play?
Can he play both tight end and hback?
For the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Willis those same questions exists even though he has already committed to the Sooners.
"What they told me was that since I have some versatility they really don’t know where they would have me as of right now. (The coaches) said it would be kind of something they’d have to get me there, see how well I run. I have a possibility of playing receiver, to a Y-tight end, to an h-back," Willis explained.
While many others are interested to find out where he might fit in Willis is incredibly nonchalant about what position he wants to find his way into.
"I’m a football player, I like to play ball so that’s all I want to do."
With those questions put to bed, another question that emerged after he was offered was in regard to his potential relationship with Oklahoma's latest staff addition, Shane Beamer and again it seems that Willis is as in the dark about Beamer's future role as everyone else.
"When he first got hired, I gave (Beamer) a follow and he followed me back because coach (Cale) Gundy said they were going to be hiring him. I guess he got my number from coach Gundy," he said. "He’ll have some affiliation with the tight ends or what not. I don’t know what that affiliation will be and we talked so he seems like a really genuine guy and I appreciate him reaching out and making that relationship."
Of course all of this talk hides the conversation about Willis' commitment which, not surprisingly, came in a whirlwind for the talented pass-catcher.
"It feels like the weight of the world is off my shoulders," he said of his decision. "(Oklahoma and I) started (talking) maybe a week before that, or so. It wasn’t a while, it was just a week before that.
"The first time I heard from coach Gundy he DMed me on Twitter and asked me about how I was doing and told him ‘good’ and I started to send him my film but he said he had already seen it. He told me he and coach (Lincoln) Riley were coming down to see me. I was kind of surprised because it was kind of out of nowhere but they came down and we talked and had a great talk. They said they were definitely interested and would get back to me about offering me and didn’t want to wait around on me in the process."
During that conversation with Riley and Gundy, Oklahoma's head man made a distinct impression on a player that would become his future pupil.
"I talked to him in depth in person and like other guys have said, I think he is a genius," he said.
"He is innovative in what he does and that is what makes him different than a lot of other coaches. He is a very fun guy to be around. I wouldn’t say energetic but he is engaging and is young and full of life."
Willis chose Oklahoma over offers from Arizona, Wake Forest, Tulane, and several others and while he isn't sure why some of the other major power five programs were involved, he has some guesses.
"There were some big schools that had interest but they dropped off but I don’t really know why, they didn’t really give me an explanation," he said.
"But me personally, what I think happened was that it was either my weight because I’m 220-pounds, I’m not as big as other tight ends out there, and/or, the fact I didn’t go to a lot of camps so my name wasn’t out there as much."
What he is clear about is why he chose Oklahoma, and Sooner fans have his family to thank.
"There are a number of things but of all the schools I was considering it is pretty close to home. I have a big family, a big extended family, they come to all of my games and I have about 25-30 of them at every game. Then the fact that me and my brother grew up as kind of Oklahoma fans so it was kind of ironic that this came from Oklahoma," he said.
"I know the first thing, my parents knew about it, and we went and saw my aunt and uncle today and the first thing they did when they heard about it was they started crying. My uncle is a big football junkie, I’ve got two cousins that played, he loves to watch football, my uncle was so happy and ecstatic. I thought that was cool, everyone else is so excited, they are all hyped that they can come see me or see me on television."
Willis, as a guy who has already picked the Sooners, did so sight unseen so what are he and his family hoping to get out of his first real in-depth look at his future home?
"I’m taking my dad, my mom, and my little sister on the trip with me," he said. "The things I want to see this weekend, I know how great a school it is, how beautiful the campus is, the facilities, the sponsorships. I want to see how the relationships with the players and coaches are. My relationship with the coaches, the players. I also want to see the strength and conditioning program and what they have to offer there."
Part of that relationship will be bonding with the eight members of Oklahoma's 2018 class that are already enrolled and on campus. Though he doesn't know any of that group yet, he has already begun to bond with his classmates.
"I talked to, well one of the guys I kind of grew up playing against was Jaylon Robinson. When I got my offer he was the first guy to reach out and was like ‘you need to make that move bro’ and I’ve been talking to him," he said. "I’ve also been talking to Tanner Mordecai and today the guys invited me into the Snapchat group. I’ve also talked to DaShaun White a little bit too."
While Willis may not be able to answer all of the questions that some are asking about him he does know the strengths of his game as well as what areas he needs to address before heading to Norman.
"I would say athleticism, strong hands, all the things we talked about," he said. "Things I need to work on, my technique in blocking. I’m a willing blocker but you know being a technically sound blocker is always just as good, if not better, and you combine those two things together it’s even better."