30 Players in 30 Days: #23 — Priest Willis

Notes from Billy's breakdown

• Priest Willis has been battling with Deshawn Capers-Smith jockeying for time with the starting defense during the spring.


• Willis has a lot of talent and has played college football.  He had several starts at UCLA under his belt and still has that 5-star talent.


• Priest Willis is big for a corner and he can cover.  He fits well in Texas A&M’s system because he can man-up receivers.


• Willis didn’t nail down a starting spot in the spring so he will be fighting for a spot when fall practice rolls around.


• Chavis’ excitement about the battle between Willis and Capers-Smith eases the nerves that such a battle brings. Priest has a ton of talent and with the Chief and Terry Joseph coaching him, it should be no surprise to see positive production from Willis.

Notes from Olin's thoughts on Willis

• When John Chavis envisions a cornerback, he envisions Priest Willis.  He is a guy that is going to be able to jam receivers and play that press coverage.


• If he does win the job this fall, and I believe he will, Willis gives the Aggie defense a completely different look than in the past few years.


• Priest is a big guy that is going to give you run support and who will be able to be physical with opposing receivers.


• I liked what I saw from Priest Willis in the spring game.  He may have been playing out of position at UCLA due to the sheer talent that he brought to their defense.


• Coach Chavis projects the corners to be better than last year.  Chief took a running back and turned him into a 3rd round pick at cornerback, imagine what he could do with a 5-star talent who actually is a cornerback.

Follow the entire 2016 30 Players in 30 days here.