Robert Kenneth Willis II (born October 6, 1966) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

, and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

Early years

Willis attended Owensboro High School, where he was a

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

and punter. He was a teammate of future

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

player

Mark Higgs Mark Deyon Higgs (born April 11, 1966 in Owensboro, Kentucky) is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals. He was drafted in the 8 ...

. He received All-region honors as a senior. He also

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. He was named All-conference in

as a senior.

College career

Willis moved on to play for

Centre College Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is ...

, where he was the team's

and punter. He transferred to the

at the end of his first year. In 1986, he was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

. As a sophomore, he handled all of the team's kickoffs. The next season, he earned the

starting job. As a senior, he registered a 77.3% average (17 of 22) on field goal attempts, good for third in school history. He also set the school mark for points in a game (15) and tied the school record for field goals in a game (4). He left as the school's most accurate kicker with a 70.8% average (29 of 41) on field goals. He also made 29 field goals (second in school history) and had an 89% average (34 of 38) on extra points. A Math major, he received Academic All-SEC honors three years in a row.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Willis was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

after the

1990 NFL Draft The 1990 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1990, at the Marriott Marq ...

. He earned the starting job over

Luis Zendejas Luis Fernando Zendejas (born October 22, 1961) is a Mexican former American football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of the Arena Football ...

in preseason, becoming the first rookie to kick for the club since

Efren Herrera Efren or Efrén is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Efrén Echeverría (born 1932), musician guitarist, composer, and compiler from Paraguay *Efrén Pérez Rivera (born 1929), former college professor and noted Puerto Rican envi ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

. He set a franchise record for points by a rookie (80), surpassing the previous mark of 78 points held by

Bob Hayes Robert Lee Hayes (December 20, 1942 – September 18, 2002), nicknamed "Bullet Bob", was an Olympic gold medalist sprinter who then became an American football split end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys (for 11 seasons). ...

and

Tony Dorsett Anthony Drew Dorsett Sr. (born April 7, 1954) is a former American football running back who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. From Western Pennsylvania, Dorsett attended the ...

. He finished seventh in the

with an 86% average (18-of-21) on field goals. In

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, he tied franchise records with 9 straight

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ball ...

, 27 field goals made and set one with four 50-yarders (including a 54-yard field goal). He also finished as the NFC's second-leading

with 118 points and had a team record 39 attempts. He was left unprotected in

Plan B free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

after accepting a $25,000 advance on his salary and agreeing verbally with the Cowboys that he would not sign with any other team. After the

lost

Steve Christie Geoffrey Stephen Christie (born November 13, 1967) is a former Canadian American football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL), who, as a member of the Buffalo Bills, became known for his ability to kick clutch field goals, even in p ...

in a similar situation, they targeted Willis as their replacement and convinced him to sign a two-year deal potentially worth more than $800,000 (including a $100,000 signing bonus), leaving the Cowboys scrambling for a

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, after struggling (8 of 14 field goals made) and missing 3 critical attempts during a 7 games span, he was replaced with

Eddie Murray Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24, 1956), nicknamed "Steady Eddie," is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman, designated hitter, and coach. Spending most of his MLB career with the Baltimore Orioles, he ranks fourth ...

and released on November 10.

New York Giants

On November 21,

, he signed with the

to replace an injured

Matt Bahr Matthew David Bahr (born July 6, 1956) is a former professional American football placekicker in the National Football League, and professional soccer player in the North American Soccer League. He attended Neshaminy High School in Langhorne, Pe ...

(sprained right knee). He played in 6 games and didn't miss a

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

or an

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

. The next year, he suffered a career-ending stress fracture in his left leg during training camp and was waived injured on July 27,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

Personal life

Willis pursued a career in teaching after football. He is currently retired as of 2022, but was a math teacher at

Bentonville High School Bentonville High School (BHS) is a public high school in Bentonville, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1910, the school provides education for students in grades nine through twelve. It is one of two high schools of the Bentonville School Dis ...

and previously at Lafayette High School. He was also a middle school math teacher in the Owensboro Public School system.

References

External links

Through These Halls: Willis recalls past career in NFL
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Ken 1966 births Living people Sportspeople from Owensboro, Kentucky Players of American football from Kentucky American football placekickers Centre Colonels football players Kentucky Wildcats football players Dallas Cowboys players New York Giants players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players