Ryan Willis (born September 28, 1996) is an

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 ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the

Memphis Showboats The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the mo ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). 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

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 va ...

. In 2019, Willis finished his senior season at Virginia Tech.

Early life and college

Willis came out of high school as a three-star prospect, as rated by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

. He chose to play for

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

over

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

, and

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. In his first start at Kansas, a Big 12 conference game versus the Baylor Bears, Willis broke his career high in passing, throwing 158 yards, on 20 completions and 36 attempts, and one touchdown. In a near win versus the 15th ranked TCU Horned Frogs, Willis threw 20–41 passes for 203 yards and a touchdown. He started the final 8 games of the season for the Jayhawks in 2015, completing 165 of 315 passes for 1,719 yards, 8 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He played in seven games, starting two, in 2016, completing 72 of 117 yards for 811 yards, 3 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. In January 2017, it was announced that Willis was transferring to play for the

. At Virginia Tech, Willis joined the team as a walk-on with no guarantee that he would make the team; but he did and spent the 2017 season sitting out due to NCAA transfer rules. In 2018, Willis has appeared in two games and made his first start at Virginia Tech at #22 Duke in Durham after an injury to incumbent starter Josh Jackson. Virginia Tech won the game 31–14, and Willis was 17-of-27 for 332 yards and three touchdown passes.

Professional career

Linemen

Willis signed with the Linemen of

The Spring League The Spring League was an American football developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional athletes but not paying a salary or expenses, the league's go ...

in May 2021. He was the MVP for The Spring League Mega Bowl in 2021 playing for the championship team. Willis would as well win The Spring League MVP the same season.

Chicago Bears

On December 18, 2021, Willis was signed to the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

practice squad. On December 25, he was "flexed" to the Bears' active roster to back up starter

Nick Foles Nicholas Edward Foles (born January 20, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona and was selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft ...

against 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 ...

. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Bears on January 11, 2022. He was released by the team on May 11, 2022.

St. Louis BattleHawks

On September 29, 2022, XFL Reporter Mike Mitchell reported that 8 quarterbacks that worked with

Jordan Palmer Jordan William Palmer (born May 30, 1984) is a former American football quarterback and the current director of quarterback development for the XFL (2020), XFL. He was selected by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. ...

have reportedly signed with each team. Willis was signed to the

St. Louis BattleHawks The St. Louis BattleHawks are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha A ...

Memphis Showboats

On February 8, 2023, Willis signed with the

of the

(USFL).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Ryan 1996 births Living people American football quarterbacks Bishop Miege High School alumni Chicago Bears players Kansas Jayhawks football players Memphis Showboats (2022) players Players of American football from Kansas Sportspeople from Overland Park, Kansas St. Louis BattleHawks players The Spring League players Virginia Tech Hokies football players