Damion Willis

Damion Lakeith Willis (born June 20, 1997) is an American football wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Troy.

Damion Willis
Damion Willis playing for Troy 2017
No. 15 – Cincinnati Bengals
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1997-06-20) June 20, 1997
Jackson, Mississippi
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:204 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Southeast Lauderdale (Meridian, Mississippi)
College:Troy
Undrafted:2019
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2019
Receptions:9
Receiving yards:82
Receiving touchdowns:0
Player stats at NFL.com

Early life and high school

Lewis was born in Jackson, Mississippi and grew up in Meridian, Mississippi. He was raised by a single mother who worked as a hospice nurse. Willis attended and played football at Southeast Lauderdale High School. He registered at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of his final three seasons playing for the Tigers. As a senior, Willis had 48 catches with 1,154 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns and was named First Team MHSAA 3A All-State. Southeast Lauderdale retired his number in 2019.[1]

College career

Despite receiving offers from Louisiana Tech and Louisiana-Monroe, Willis opted to begin collegiate career at East Mississippi Community College, playing sparingly in his freshman year.[2] As a sophomore, he led the Lions with 620 receiving yards and 18.2 yards per catch while finishing second on the team with six touchdown receptions and third with 34 catches. Willis transferred to Troy University, which had recruited him out of high school, for the remaining two seasons of his eligibility.[3]

In his first season with the Trojans, Willis started eight games and finished the season with 42 receptions for 620 yards and three touchdowns and was named honorable mention All-Sun Belt Conference.[4] He caught a New Orleans Bowl record 11 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns against North Texas.[5] Willis was named first team All-Sun Belt as a senior after catching 56 passes for 876 yards and a conference-best 10 touchdowns, despite missing two and a half games due to injury.[6]

Professional career

Willis signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2019.[7] He made his NFL debut on September 8, 2019 against the Seattle Seahawks, starting in place of injured receiver A. J. Green and making three receptions for 30 yards.[8] Willis was waived by the October 23, 2019,[9] and re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[10] The Bengals promoted Willis back up to the active roster on November 15, 2019.[11] On December 3, 2019, Willis was waived by the Bengals and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted back to the active roster on December 10, 2019.[12] Willis finished his rookie season with nine receptions for 82 yards in ten games played (two starts).[13]

Willis was placed on the active/physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp on July 29, 2020,[14] and activated from the list five days later.[15]

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References
  1. Hayes, Elton (May 4, 2019). "Willis has jersey retired at Southeast Lauderdale". The Meridian Star. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  2. Hobson, Geoff (August 2, 2019). "Willis Catches Attention At Camp Zac". Bengals.com. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  3. Kerekes, Drew (December 21, 2016). "Former SEL standout Willis ready to contribute at Troy". The Meridian Star. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  4. Wise, Jeremy (December 23, 2017). "Troy football looking for two offensive assistants". APNews.com. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  5. Dabe, Christopher (December 17, 2017). "New Orleans Bowl: Troy wins again in Louisiana, this time in rout of North Texas". NOLA.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  6. Roling, Chris (August 1, 2019). "Damion Willis is the undrafted free agent tearing up Bengals camp so far". Bengals Wire. USA Today. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  7. Rogers, Ken (April 28, 2019). "Troy Trojans wide receiver Damion Willis inks free agent deal with Cincinnati Bengals". Dothan Eagle.
  8. Judis, Patrick (September 9, 2019). "Injury roundup: Bengals have just 1 scare in loss to Seahawks". CincyJungle.com. SB Nation.
  9. Alper, Josh (October 23, 2019). "Bengals bring back Anthony Zettel, waive Damion Willis". Profootballtalk.com.
  10. "Willis To Practice Squad, Chesley Released". Bengals.com. October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  11. Gantt, Darin (November 15, 2019). "A.J. Green out this week, Dre Kirkpatrick to IR for Bengals". Profootballtalk.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  12. "Bengals Sign Willis To Roster, Place Tate On Reserve/Injured". Bengals.com. December 10, 2019.
  13. Inabinett, Mark (February 18, 2020). "Alabama Roots: 154 NFL players in the 2019 season". AL.com. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  14. Bouda, Nate (July 29, 2020). "Bengals Place RB Rodney Anderson & WR Damion Willis On PUP List, Add G Alex Redmond To NFI List". NFLTradeRumors.co. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  15. @JayMorrisonATH (August 3, 2020). "#Bengals WR Damion Willis passed his physical today" (Tweet). Retrieved August 3, 2020 – via Twitter.
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