Luke Willson
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| Seattle Seahawks | |||||||
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| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | January 15, 1990 LaSalle, Ontario | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 252 lb (114 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| College: | Rice | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 2013 / Round: 5 / Pick: 158 | ||||||
| CFL Draft: | 2012 / Round: 5 / Pick: 32 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 15, 2015 | |||||||
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Luke Michael Willson[1] (born January 15, 1990) is a Canadian American football tight end for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Seahawks in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft out of Rice.[2]
Willson played with the Canadian Junior National baseball team in 2008. In 2011 he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays organization but decided to return to football.[3][4]
Early years
He attended St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic Secondary School in LaSalle, Ontario, near Windsor. He was selected to the all-conference three times in high school.[1] He had 29 receptions for 638 receiving yards along with eight receiving touchdowns in his senior season.[1] He was selected as St. Thomas of Villanova High School's Athlete of the Year in both his junior and senior seasons.[1]
College career
Willson played as a tight end for Rice University each year from 2009 through 2012.
Freshman season
He finished his freshman year with 7 receptions for 122 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.[5]
Sophomore season
He finished his sophomore season with a total of 33 receptions, 425 receiving yards along 3 receiving touchdowns.[5]
Junior season
In 2011, he was selected to Phil Steele's midseason All-Conference USA team as tight end.[1] He was selected to the Consensus first-team preseason All C-USA and also was selected to the first team of Dave Campbell's Texas Football All-Texas College preseason team before his junior season.[1] He finished his junior season with 29 receptions, 313 receiving yards and 3 receiving touchdowns.[5]
Senior season
He finished his senior season with a total of 9 receptions for 126 receiving yards and 2 receiving touchdowns.[5]
Professional career
2013 season
Willson played in every game for Seattle in 2013 and scored his first touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers. At the end of the regular season, Willson was graded as the second most valuable rookie TE by Football Outsiders, despite being the eighth TE selected in the 2013 draft.
Willson's rookie season was capped with a win in Super Bowl XLVIII. Willson contributed to the Seattle Seahawks 43–8 victory over the Denver Broncos, catching two passes for 17 yards.[6]
2014 season
Willson's sophomore season saw an increased role when starting tight end Zach Miller was injured after a week 3 game against the Denver Broncos, eventually ending up on injured reserve. [7] Willson caught a game-winning 23 yard touchdown pass with less than a minute left in week 8 against the Carolina Panthers. He later starred in a week 16 game against the Arizona Cardinals, catching 3 passes for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns. Willson ended the season with 22 catches for 362 yards and 3 touchdowns.
In the 2014–15 NFL playoffs, Willson caught 4 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown in a divisional round game against the Carolina Panthers, then one week later caught a key two-point conversion in the NFC championship game against the Green Bay Packers. The Seahawks went on to defeat the Packers 28–22 to reach the Super Bowl for the second straight season. In Super Bowl XLIX, Willson had no catches as the Seahawks failed to repeat as Super Bowl champions. The Seahawks were defeated by the New England Patriots 28-24.[8]
Personal life
Willson is a practising Catholic who attributes his success in life to being a part of the Catholic Church.[9] Willson also has a Tuesday guest spot with BJ & Migs Mornings on 99.9 KISW "The Rock of Seattle" radio station titled "The End Zone with Luke Willson."
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Rice Owls Profile". riceowls.com.
- ^ Wilson to Willson? Seahawks choose TE Luke Willson in NFL Draft’s fifth round
- ^ Bob Elliott: Will it be NFL or Jays for Canada's Luke Willson?
- ^ Canadian’s decision to choose football over baseball about to pay off
- ^ a b c d "College Statistics". sports-reference.com.
- ^ "Super Bowl XLVIII". nfl.com. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
- ^ http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/11/12/seahawks-put-zach-miller-on-injured-reserve
- ^ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WillLu00/gamelog/2014/
- ^ http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/seattle-seahawks-tight-end-staying-loose-before-the-super-bowl/