imported>Bringingthewood: added link to infobox

2025-06-11T20:41:09Z

added link to infobox

New page

{{Short description|American football player (born 1967)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Peter Tom Willis
| number = 10, 2, 4, 11
| position = [[Quarterback]]
| birth_place = [[Morris, Alabama]], U.S.
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1967|1|4}}
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 2
| weight_lb = 188
| high_school = [[Mortimer Jordan High School|Mortimer Jordan]] {{nowrap|([[Kimberly, Alabama]])}}
| college = [[Florida State Seminoles football|Florida State]]
| draftyear = 1990
| draftround = 3
| draftpick = 63
| pastteams =
* [[Chicago Bears]] ({{NFL Year|1990|1993}})
* [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]] ({{NFL Year|1995}})*
* [[Tampa Bay Storm]] ({{AFL Year|1997|1999}})
| highlights =
* Second-team [[All-Arena]] ([[1998 All-Arena Team|1998]])
* First-team All-South Independent (1989)
| statlabel1 = [[Touchdown|TD]]-[[Interception|INT]]
| statvalue1 = 6–15
| statlabel2 = Passing yards
| statvalue2 = 1,261
| statlabel3 = [[Passer rating]]
| statvalue3 = 54.9
| aflstatlabel1 = Comp. / Att.
| aflstatvalue1 = 718 / 1,255
| aflstatlabel2 = Passing yards
| aflstatvalue2 = 9,490
| aflstatlabel3 = TD-INT
| aflstatvalue3 = 176–37
| aflstatlabel4 = Passer rating
| aflstatvalue4 = 104.04
| afl = 1726
| pfr = WillPe00
}}

'''Peter Tom Willis''' (born January 4, 1967) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[quarterback]] in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) and [[Arena Football League]] (AFL). He played [[college football]] for the [[Florida State Seminoles football|Florida State Seminoles]] and was selected by the [[Chicago Bears]] in the third round of the [[1990 NFL draft]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1990 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1990/draft.htm |access-date=2023-05-24 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> After four years with the Bears, he played in the AFL for the [[Tampa Bay Storm]]. From 1998 to 2008 he served as the radio [[color commentator]] for the Seminoles.

Willis lives in [[Valrico, Florida]] and is an industrial buyer for Commercial Metals Company at their Tampa facility.<ref name="palmbeachpost1">{{cite web |author=Tom D'Angelo |url=http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/2008/04/05/a1b_willis_0405.html |title=FSU football analyst fired for criticism |publisher=The Palm Beach Post |date=2008-04-05 |access-date=2010-11-01}}</ref>

==College career==
Originally from [[Morris, Alabama]] and [[Mortimer Jordan High School]], Willis was inducted as a member of the Florida State University Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. During his successful senior year in 1989 (his first and only season as the [[Starting lineup|starting]] quarterback), he led the team to 10 straight victories, including an impressive 41–17 win over the [[Nebraska Cornhuskers]] in the [[Fiesta Bowl]]. It was also during that year that he set 15 team passing records. He surpassed fellow Seminole Hall of Famer [[Gary Huff]] to become Florida State's top single season passer with 3,124 yards. He also set the record for passes completed in a season (211), most 300-yard passing games (six), as well as touchdown passes in a game (six). Willis also set five Florida State career records including best passing efficiency at 148.5.

Willis' senior season saw the Seminoles lose their first two games before coming back with 10-straight wins over the likes of [[Syracuse Orange|Syracuse]], [[Auburn Tigers football|Auburn]], [[Miami Hurricanes football|Miami]] and [[Florida Gators football|Florida]]. On a team that many considered the nation's best at year's end, Willis helped put the exclamation point on that notion with a 41–17 win over Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl.

==College statistics==
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
! colspan="2"| Legend
|-
| style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"|
| Led the conference
|-
| '''Bold'''
| Career high
|}

===Regular season===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="1"| Games
! colspan="8"| Passing
|-
! {{abbr|GP|Games played}} !! {{abbr|Cmp|Passes completed}} !! {{abbr|Att|Passes attempted}} !! {{abbr|Pct|Completion percentage}} !! {{abbr|Yds|Passing yards}} !! {{abbr|Y/A|Yards per passing attempt}} !! {{abbr|TD|Passing touchdowns}} !! {{abbr|Int|Interceptions}} !! {{abbr|Rtg|Passer rating}}
|-
! [[1986 NCAA Division I-A football season|1986]] !! [[1986 Florida State Seminoles football team|Florida St.]]
| 8 || 36 || 59 || 61.0 || 463 || 7.8 || 3 || 4 || 130.2
|-
! [[1987 NCAA Division I-A football season|1987]] !! [[1987 Florida State Seminoles football team|Florida St.]]
| 4 || 9 || 10 || '''90.0''' || 67 || 6.7 || 1 || 0 || '''179.3'''
|-
! [[1988 NCAA Division I-A football season|1988]] !! [[1988 Florida State Seminoles football team|Florida St.]]
| '''11''' || 48 || 85 || 56.5 || 637 || 7.5 || 9 || 3 || 147.3
|-
! [[1989 NCAA Division I-A football season|1989]] !! [[1989 Florida State Seminoles football team|Florida St.]]
| '''11''' || '''211''' || '''346''' || 61.0 || style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"| '''3,124''' || '''9.0''' || '''20''' || '''9''' || 150.7
|-
! colspan="2"| Career !! 34 !! 304 !! 500 !! 60.8 !! 4,291 !! 8.6 !! 33 !! 16 !! 148.3
|}

==Professional career==
After college, Willis played professional football for the [[National Football League]]'s [[Chicago Bears]] and the [[Tampa Bay Storm]] of the [[Arena Football League (1987–2008)|Arena Football League]].

==Commentating career==
Willis worked in the broadcast booth as a color analyst with "the voice of the Seminoles", long time FSU [[play-by-play]] announcer [[Gene Deckerhoff]]. His signature was to praise a player's performance by saying "I see you, (''name of player'')!" Following ten years of service, his contract was not renewed after the 2007–2008 football season because the Florida State administration and coaches felt he was "too critical" of the program.<ref name="palmbeachpost1"/> Head coach [[Bobby Bowden]] stood by this decision,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college/2009/05/qa-with-peter-tom-willis-im-not-sorry-i-had-to-do-what-i-felt-was-my-job.html |title=Q&A with Peter Tom Willis: "I'm not sorry … I had to do what I felt was my job." – College Gridiron 365 Blog – Orlando Sentinel |publisher=Blogs.orlandosentinel.com |access-date=2010-11-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090517065510/http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college/2009/05/qa-with-peter-tom-willis-im-not-sorry-i-had-to-do-what-i-felt-was-my-job.html |archive-date=2009-05-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and said "I do support it. I support it all the way."

"They felt like I was too critical of the program and the team the last few years," Willis said. "I hate that. That was not my intent. My intent was to call it like I see it for 10 years. But if people are upset with me because I was telling the truth, if that's going to upset people, maybe I shouldn't be there."<ref name="palmbeachpost1"/>

Willis is a member of the FSU Sports Hall of Fame and a former quarterback who led the Seminoles to a 10–2 record and No. 3 ranking in 1989.<ref name="palmbeachpost1"/> He was critical of the offense under former coordinator [[Jeff Bowden]], and regretted saying that the Seminoles resembled a "high school offense" during the 2005 game at Clemson.<ref name="tampabay1">{{cite web |url=https://www.tampabay.com/sports/article462198.ece |title=FSU wide right on booting announcer Peter Tom Willis – St. Petersburg Times |publisher=Tampabay.com |access-date=2010-11-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013103102/http://www.tampabay.com/sports/article462198.ece |archive-date=2012-10-13 }}</ref> That comment especially upset coach [[Bobby Bowden]], according to sources.<ref name="palmbeachpost1"/><ref name="tampabay1"/> Willis believed that the program, with the hiring of [[Jimbo Fisher]], was headed in the right direction.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.nfl.com/players/petertomwillis/profile?id=WIL620352 NFL stats]
*[http://www.arenafan.com/players/?page=players&player=1726 AFL stats]

{{Florida State Seminoles quarterback navbox}}
{{Bears1990DraftPicks}}
{{Chicago Bears starting quarterback navbox}}
{{Tampa Bay Storm starting quarterback navbox}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Peter}}
[[Category:1967 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Jefferson County, Alabama]]
[[Category:American football quarterbacks]]
[[Category:Florida State Seminoles football players]]
[[Category:Florida State University alumni]]
[[Category:Chicago Bears players]]
[[Category:Tampa Bay Storm players]]
[[Category:American sports announcers]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Valrico, Florida]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Hillsborough County, Florida]]
[[Category:Tampa Bay Buccaneers players]]

Peter Tom Willis - Revision history

imported>Bringingthewood: added link to infobox