LAS VEGAS — Then-49ers general manager Scot McCloughan admired the tackling machine from Ole Miss because of his blend of power, speed, athleticism and aggression.
Coming off a 7-9 season, the 49ers were selected to coach one of the Senior Bowl squads in Mobile, Alabama, where Patrick Willis was assigned to their team.
“Watching him in college, we could tell he was special,” McCloughan told NBC Sports Bay Area. “And at the Senior Bowl, we identified that the person was just as good as the player.”
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Despite pushback from some of the team’s coaches at the time, McCloughan selected Willis with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.
On Thursday, Willis’ football journey was completed with his selection into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
Willis was chosen for football's most prestigious individual honor in his fifth year of eligibility and his third time as a finalist.
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Joining Willis in the seven-member Hall of Fame Class of 2024 are defensive end Dwight Freeney, return specialist Devin Hester, wide receiver Andre Johnson and defensive end Julius Peppers from the modern era.
Defensive lineman Steve McMichael and outside linebacker Randy Gradishar were elected from the seniors pool.
Former Raiders receiver Art Powell and coach Buddy Parker were finalists in the seniors and coach categories but did not receive the mandatory 80-percent vote for election.
Willis' honor comes at a serendipitous time with the 49ers preparing to play in Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs. After all, Willis still makes an impact with the 49ers.
General manager John Lynch said he asks Willis to come around the team more often because of his positive influence on the current players.
“He’s got a special way about him that inspires people,” Lynch said.
Willis has bonded with 49ers linebackers Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw.
“We started connecting and talking back and forth,” Warner told NBC Sports Bay Area last week. “He’s shown nothing but love to me. And, obviously, that’s one of my role models for excellence at the linebacker position — or forget the position, you talk about playing football the right way.”
Willis was soft-spoken and not comfortable with a leadership role when he came to the NFL. But over time, Willis placed himself in uncomfortable positions to take more of an up-front role because he knew more was expected from him as the team’s middle linebacker.
“He played with a passion that was unique,” Lynch said. “You could tell his teammates responded and the crowd responded to the way he played.”
Willis was a consensus first-team All-American in 2006 and won the Butkus Award and the Jack Lambert Award as the best college linebacker in the country. He was the 2006 SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
Willis played his entire eight-year NFL career with the 49ers before chronic foot issues forced him into retirement following the 2014 season. During his seven full seasons in the NFL, Willis earned seven Pro Bowl honors and was a five-time first-team All-Pro selection.
Willis led the NFL with 174 tackles in his first season in the pros and was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He was named to the NFL All-Decade team of the 2010s.
“He had unique ability and instincts at inside linebacker and his play speed was phenomenal,” McCloughan said. “He changed the inside linebacker position for that generation. Every team looked at that position and said, ‘We need speed; we need speed; we need speed.’ ”
What also made Willis special was his incredible agility and sideline-to-sideline range along with his ability to bring the hammer.
As a rookie, he delivered a crushing hit on Minnesota rookie running back Adrian Peterson early in a game at Candlestick Park.
Willis set the tone on a day Peterson had the worst game of a career in which he finished with 14,918 yards to rank fifth in NFL history. Peterson gained just 3 yards on 14 rushing attempts that day, while Willis had eight tackles and a fumble recovery.
“I know every player who played with Patrick respected him a lot, and I know every player who ever played against Patrick respected him a lot,” McCloughan said. “That’s the definition of a Hall of Fame player.”