Ray Willis (born August 13, 1982) 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 ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

who last played for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

of 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). He was selected by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

in the fourth round (105th overall pick) of the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 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 NFL draft, draft was held April 23–24, 2005 NFL seaso ...

. 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 ...

for the

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

Seminoles The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and ...

. He has also been a member of the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

and

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

Early years

Willis attended

Angleton High School Angleton High School is a public high school located just outside the city of Angleton, Texas, United States in unincorporated Brazoria County. It is classified as a 5A school by the University Interscholastic League (UIL). It is a part of the A ...

and was a

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. In football, as a senior, he was an All-District honoree, a Class 5A All-State honoree, and after his senior season, he was named an All-Midland Regional honorable mention by Prep Star, and was ranked the Super Prep's 28th best

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

, and the 36th-best football prospect in the state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

College career

Willis attended

, where he started 35 games and teamed with Alex Barron to make one of the best offensive lines in college football.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

He started at both right

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

and right tackle for Seattle. He is known as a good

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

blocker. He re-signed with the team on March 6, 2008 and then again on March 9, 2009.

Miami Dolphins

On August 5, 2011, Willis signed with the

. Willis's contract was terminated by the Dolphins on September 3.

New Orleans Saints

Willis signed with the

on November 2, 2011.

New York Jets

Willis was signed by the

on May 29, 2012. He was waived by the team on June 28.

Kansas City Chiefs

Willis was signed by the

on July 31, 2012. He looks to compete for the offensive swing-tackle position.

Personal life

Ray Willis is married to the former Kimberly Pettaway of

Tarboro, North Carolina Tarboro is a town located in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Rocky Mount Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 10,721. It is the county seat of Edgecombe County. The ...

. His wife gave birth to twins - a boy and a girl - on February 23, 2008.

References

External links

Kansas City Chiefs bioMiami Dolphins bioSeattle Seahawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Ray 1982 births Living people People from Angleton, Texas Angleton High School alumni Players of American football from Texas American football offensive tackles Florida State Seminoles football players Seattle Seahawks players Sportspeople from the Houston metropolitan area Miami Dolphins players New Orleans Saints players New York Jets players Kansas City Chiefs players