Odell Willis (born December 28, 1984), nicknamed "the Mayor of Swaggerville", is a professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

who is a

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 ...

. He was most recently a member of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He was signed by the

Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divisio ...

as a

in 2007. He played college football for the

West Georgia Wolves The West Georgia Wolves (UWG Wolves, formerly the West Georgia Braves) are the athletic teams that represent the University of West Georgia, located in Carrollton, Georgia, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Wolves compete as member ...

. Willis has also played for the

Huntington Heroes The Huntington Heroes were a professional indoor football franchise and member of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). The Heroes played their home games during their inaugural 2006 season at the Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse in Hunti ...

Peoria Pirates The Peoria Pirates were a professional arena football team that last played in AF2, the minor league to the Arena Football League (AFL). They played their home games at Carver Arena, part of the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois, and were coached ...

Green Bay Blizzard Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in ...

, Edmonton Eskimos, and

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first seas ...

College career

Willis played four seasons for the

University of West Georgia The University of West Georgia is a public university in Carrollton, Georgia. The university offers a satellite campus in Newnan, Georgia, select classes at its Douglasville Center, and off-campus Museum Studies classes at the Atlanta History Ce ...

and totaled 126 tackles, 20.5 sacks and six forced fumbles for the Wolves. He was twice named an All-Gulf South Conference selection.

Professional career

af2 and AIFA

Willis was assigned to the

of the

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

on July 19, 2007. He signed with the

of the

American Indoor Football Association American Indoor Football (AIF) was a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United ...

in January 2008 and played for the team during the 2008 season. He played for the

of the af2 later in 2008. In July 2008, he was traded to the

Calgary Stampeders

In 2009, Willis signed with the

where he recorded six sacks in his first nine games.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

He was then traded to the

in a package trade, where he recorded another four sacks with the Blue Bombers. In his 2010 campaign, Willis started all 18 games and recorded 11 sacks. During the

2011 CFL season The 2011 CFL season was the 58th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 54th season of the Canadian Football League. The complete schedule was released on February 18 and featured the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal ...

, Willis started all 18 games for the second consecutive year and set a new career high with 13 sacks. His performance earned him his first CFL East Division All-Star nod and recognition on his first CFL All-Star team a short while later. Odell Willis on 23 September 2012

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On March 22, 2012, Willis was traded to the

for second and fourth round picks in the

2012 CFL Draft The 2012 CFL Draft took place on Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET on TSN. 45 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The Calgary Stamped ...

. Willis recorded 6 sacks in the

2012 CFL season The 2012 CFL season was the 59th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 55th season for the Canadian Football League. The pre-season began on June 13, 2012, and the regular season started on June 29, 2012. Rogers Centre ...

Edmonton Eskimos

After not being re-signed following one season with the Roughriders, Willis signed a three-year contract with the Edmonton Eskimos on February 15, 2013 (The first day of CFL free-agency). In his first season with the Eskimos Willis played in 13 of the 18 regular season games. He would finish the season with 22 tackles, 9 quarterback sacks and 1 fumble recovery. Willis' play improved again the following season, earning himself his second CFL All-Star award and his first CFL West All-Star award. His 13 sacks put him tied for 2nd place for most sacks on the season; he also had 32 tackles, 2 interceptions (one for a touchdown) and a fumble recovery. Following the 2014 CFL season, Willis re-signed with the Eskimos.

Ottawa Redblacks

On February 2, 2018, Willis was traded to the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Starting ...

for fellow defensive lineman, Jake Ceresna. His tenure with the Redblacks lasted 17 minutes.

BC Lions

Shortly after he was traded to the Redblacks, Willis was again traded on February 2, 2018 back to the West Division to the

for a fourth-round pick in the

2018 CFL Draft The 2018 CFL Draft took place on May 3, 2018, at 8:00 pm ET and was broadcast on TSN and RDS... Sixty-nine players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing i ...

and a negotiation list player. Willis continued to perform as a pass rushing threat, recording 11 sacks over the season, a personal best since the 2014 season. Following the season Willis re-signed with the Lions for the

2019 CFL season The 2019 CFL season was the 66th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 62nd Canadian Football League season. The regular season began on June 13 and concluded with the playing of the 107th Grey Cup in Calgary on November ...

. In 2019, Willis was switched to defensive tackle mid-season, contributing to lower than usual production of four sacks on the year, but he still managed to pass the milestone of 100 career sacks. He became a free agent in 2020, but did not play due to the cancellation of the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the ...

Toronto Argonauts

On February 12, 2021, it was announced that Willis had signed with the

. He was placed on the suspended list on July 20, 2021. He began the season on the suspended list before moving to the practice roster in week 2 of the regular season, but was released on August 17, 2021.

References

External links

Toronto Argonauts bioEdmonton Eskimos bio

Saskatchewan Roughriders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Odell 1984 births Living people American football defensive linemen Calgary Stampeders players Canadian football defensive linemen Edmonton Elks players Green Bay Blizzard players Peoria Pirates players Players of American football from Meridian, Mississippi Players of Canadian football from Mississippi Saskatchewan Roughriders players Spokane Shock players West Georgia Wolves football players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Huntington Heroes players BC Lions players Toronto Argonauts players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people