Luke Willson
 Willson with the Seattle Seahawks in 2013 | |||||||||
| No. 82 – Detroit Lions | |||||||||
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| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | January 15, 1990 LaSalle, Ontario | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 254 lb (115 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | LaSalle (ON) St. Thomas of Villanova | ||||||||
| College: | Rice | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2013 / round: 5 / pick: 158 | ||||||||
| CFL draft: | 2012 / round: 5 / pick: 32 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2017 | |||||||||
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Luke Michael Willson[1] (born January 15, 1990) is a Canadian professional American football tight end for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft out of Rice.[2]
Willson played with the Canadian Junior National baseball team in 2008. In 2011, he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays organization but decided to return to football.[3][4]
Early years
Willson attended St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic Secondary School in LaSalle, Ontario, near Windsor. He was selected to the all-conference three times in his high school football career.[1] He had 29 receptions for 638 receiving yards along with eight receiving touchdowns in his senior season.[1] He was selected as St. Thomas of Villanova High School's Athlete of the Year in both his junior and senior seasons.[1]
College career
Willson played as a tight end for Rice University each year from 2009 through 2012. His position coach at Rice was former Detroit Lions tight end David Sloan.[5]
Freshman season
Willson finished his freshman year with 7 receptions for 122 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.[6]
Sophomore season
He finished his sophomore season with a total of 33 receptions, 425 receiving yards, and 3 receiving touchdowns.[6]
Junior season
In 2011, he was selected to Phil Steele's midseason All-Conference USA team as tight end.[1] He was selected to the Consensus first-team preseason All C-USA and also was selected to the first team of Dave Campbell's Texas Football All-Texas College preseason team before his junior season.[1] He finished his junior season with 29 receptions, 313 receiving yards, and 3 receiving touchdowns.[6]
Senior season
Willson finished his senior season with a total of nine receptions for 126 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns, [6] which earned him a spot in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.
Professional career
Seattle Seahawks
Willson played in every game for Seattle in 2013 and scored his first touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers. At the end of the regular season, Willson was graded as the second most valuable rookie tight end by Football Outsiders, despite being the eighth tight end selected in the 2013 Draft.
Willson's rookie season was capped with a win in Super Bowl XLVIII. Willson caught two passes for 17 yards in the Seattle Seahawks 43–8 victory over the Denver Broncos.[7]
Willson's sophomore season saw an increased role when starting tight end Zach Miller was injured after a Week 4 Super Bowl rematch against the Denver Broncos, eventually ending up on injured reserve. [8] Willson caught a game-winning 23 yard touchdown pass with less than a minute left in week 8 against the Carolina Panthers. He later starred in a week 16 game against the Arizona Cardinals, catching 3 passes for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns. Willson ended the season with 22 catches for 362 yards and 3 touchdowns.
In the 2014–15 NFL playoffs, Willson caught 4 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown in a divisional round game against the Carolina Panthers, then one week later caught a key two-point conversion in the NFC championship game against the Green Bay Packers. The Seahawks went on to defeat the Packers 28–22 to reach the Super Bowl for the second straight season. In Super Bowl XLIX, Willson had no catches as the Seahawks failed to repeat as Super Bowl champions. The Seahawks were defeated by the New England Patriots by a score of 28-24.[9]
On March 17, 2017, Willson re-signed with the Seahawks.[10]
Detroit Lions
On March 21, 2018 Willson signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Detroit Lions.[11]
Personal life
Willson is a practicing Catholic who attributes his success in life to being a part of the Catholic Church.[12] Willson also has a Tuesday guest spot with BJ & Migs Mornings on 99.9 KISW "The Rock of Seattle" radio station titled "The End Zone with Luke Willson."
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Rice Owls Profile". riceowls.com.
- ^ Wilson to Willson? Seahawks choose TE Luke Willson in NFL Draft’s fifth round
- ^ Bob Elliott: Will it be NFL or Jays for Canada's Luke Willson?
- ^ Canadian’s decision to choose football over baseball about to pay off
- ^ http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2018/03/te_luke_willson_is_a_lifelong.html#incart_river_index
- ^ a b c d "College Statistics". sports-reference.com.
- ^ "Super Bowl XLVIII". nfl.com. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
- ^ http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/11/12/seahawks-put-zach-miller-on-injured-reserve
- ^ https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/enwiki/w/WillLu00/gamelog/2014/
- ^ Jackson, Zac (March 17, 2017). "Seahawks bring back Luke Willson, DeShawn Shead". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com.
- ^ "Lions sign unrestricted free agent TE Luke Willson". DetroitLions.com. March 21, 2018.
- ^ http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/seattle-seahawks-tight-end-staying-loose-before-the-super-bowl/