Darren Willis (born December 19, 1964) is a former

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

football player who played professional American football for the Tampa Bay Storm.

High school years

He is an

alumnus Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

of Santa Monica High where he starred as a player on the 1982 CIF football champions and was teammates with

Sam Anno Sam Scott Anno (born January 26, 1965) is a former American football linebacker, and currently a defensive assistant coach for the San Diego Strike Force of the Indoor Football League. High school career Anno prepped at Saint Monica Catholi ...

and

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

standout Keith Davis on the team that beat Long Beach Poly 21-8. He was also teammates in high school with fellow Santa Monica defensive back

Junior Thurman Ulyses Thurman Jr. (born September 8, 1964) is a former American football, American and Canadian football defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL and ...

who eventually along with

transferred to USC after playing football at West LA College. Darren starred as a player on the 1982 CIF championship football team and also played defense with

Dean Cain Dean George Cain ( Tanaka; born July 31, 1966) is an American actor. From 1993 to 1997, he played Clark Kent / Superman in the TV series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. Cain was the host of ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' and ...

, who starred as a defensive back on the 1981-82 team that beat Long Beach Poly 21-8 before accepting a scholarship to play football at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. Willis later became a coach on the Santa Monica staff in 2001 and helped guide the Vikings to a CIF title the school's first since he was a prep at the school.

College career

Willis was the starting free safety on the 1987 Rose Bowl Champions team that helped the Sun Devils reach their first appearance for the Arizona State Sun Devils football team in the

1987 Rose Bowl The 1987 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1987, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. It was the 73rd Rose Bowl Game. The Arizona State Sun Devils, champions of the Pacific-10 Conference, defeated the Michigan Wo ...

. The Sun Devils were also the 1986 Pac-10 Champions and beat both USC and UCLA in Los Angeles and a 16-9 win over the Bruins on October 4, 1987, would prove to be the deciding game in the conference. Jeff Van Raaphorst, who led Arizona State to its first Rose Bowl appearance, defeating Michigan 22-15, in the 1987 game. Van Raaphorst passed for 193 yards and two touchdowns in the game, out-dueling the Wolverines'

Jim Harbaugh James Joseph Harbaugh (; born December 23, 1963) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current and 20th head football coach of the Michigan Wolverines. He played college football at Michigan from 1983 to 1986. He play ...

, and capturing Rose Bowl MVP honors. (The Arizona State University quarterback and 1987 Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player Jeff Van Raaphorst was eventually inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame).

Professional career

Willis grabbed 6 receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown in the 1991 Arena Bowl championship and was named the game's Ironman. He is currently recognized as one of the top athletics trainers working with current NFL players such as Shawne Merriman. Willis holds a degree from Arizona State University in

Kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human health ...

and has successfully developed personal workout plans for High school, college, and NFL football players to maximize their athletic potential.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Darren 1964 births Living people American football defensive backs Arizona State Sun Devils football players Tampa Bay Storm players Connecticut Coyotes players