February 2, 2004 Vandy Invites Local Star to Walk-On Chris Lee VandySports.com Publisher

It's not often that Vanderbilt gets an opportunity to get good players to fork over $40,000 for an education all in the hopes of playing football for the school. But this year, Brentwood's Kyle Willis may do just that. Willis, Brentwood High's kicker, has been recruited by the Commodore staff to walk-on to the football team, and it appears he may take the coaches up on that opportunity.

"I was down there earlier this fall- I have a godfather who's a professor there, and he got Vanderbilt familiar with my name. We've sent tapes to Coach (Ted) Cain and I'd like to come walk-on." Coincidentally, it was through Cain that the Commodores first discovered Willis- he's a high-school classmate of Cain's daughter.

However, there are still a couple of hurdles that might be in the way of Willis's SEC dreams. "Vanderbilt is an expensive place to walk on. As of now I've applied and should get accepted," said Willis, who carries a 3.5 GPA and a 29 ACT. "But, if other schools come along and there's a good opportunity for a kicker, I'll look around. I'm sure I could go there without a scholarship, but it's a heavy burden for my parents."

Kicking was often an adventure for Brentwood High this season, but it wasn't due to Willis. "I went through three long-snappers this year," said Willis, who had one field goal and four extra points blocked his season, and estimated he missed three more kicks due to bad snaps. Still, the senior hit seven-of-11 field goals as a senior and was 41-46 on PAT's. Willis's best attribute is his ability to kick under pressure. During the state playoffs, he connected on four of his five field-goal attempts.

Because Kyle's team had a high-powered offense, he didn't get many field-goal attempts over his career (he converted 12 of 18 attempts with a long of 42). Therefore, he concentrated most of his practice efforts on kicks 40 yards and in.

However, Willis has a strong leg that he believes makes him capable of hitting longer kicks. "At the UT kicking camp, I hit one from 57 yards off turf. And during practice, I hit one from 55 once with a live rush."

Other schools have expressed interest in Willis. Northwestern has invited him to walk-on, and UAB expressed interest earlier this year. Alabama scouted him as a junior, though the Tide has not shown interest of late. As a backup plan, Willis has also applied to school at MTSU.

For photos, video, and more about Willis, visit his website at kylewillis.com.