Senior Feature -- Richard Willis
11/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 18, 2003
Editor's Note: This feature ran in the Nov. 15 edition of the Mizzou football gameday program.
by Lauren Kennedy
Richard Raleigh Willis III has failed twice in his life. The first time, he didn't get a drum major position in high school. The second time, he didn't get into Duke University, which he considered a failure. When most people fail at something, they want to quickly forget about it because it is too painful. But Willis taped the Duke rejection letter to his desk, so that he sees it every morning when he wakes up, and every night before he goes to bed. He says that it is a constant reminder for him to give 110%.
"My biggest motivation is fear of failure," Willis said, "it gives me a mental edge."
Willis grew up in south St. Louis and went to Bayless High School. He lettered three years in basketball and men's volleyball, and after not getting into Duke he decided that he wanted to play football at the University of Missouri. This would prove to be a difficult task, as his high school didn't have a football team, and he had no lower level experience in the sport.
But this didn't faze Willis. He walked on the team in 2000 and is now about to complete his fourth year of college play. True, you may not see him on the field all that often, and many would wonder why Willis has stuck with football all these years. He plays because he loves sports, he loves teammates, and he especially loves being coached.
"Coaches push you to be a better man," Willis says. "You really do grow up, both mentally and physically." Willis feels lucky to have had the same coach, Cornell Ford, for all four years, and compares it to a father-son relationship. Willis says that the main reason that he plays is for personal achievement.
"My parents always told me, 'Challenge yourself.' They told me to always strive for more." Willis' parents are what he describes as his foundation. It his mother, father, grandmother, and older sister Allison that Willis says give him constant support.
"Those four people are the most wonderful people in the world," Willis said, "I am forever indebted to them." It is this loyalty that Willis gives everything in his life, including his friends. It is his family and his friends that are the most important things in his life.
"I've met some of my best friends in the world here," he says, "and those are ties that I will have for a long time." He lives with four football players and enjoys the opportunity to get to know people from all over the country.
If you were to ask Willis what is most important to him in his life, of course he would first say his family and friends, but it is football and this school that are his pride and joy.
"MU is the happiest place on earth," Willis smiled, "God placed me here, and everything happened for a reason." He loves everything that Mizzou stands for and his pride for the school stems from his pride for the team. In fact he is so devoted to the Tigers that he had one tattooed on his chest. But Willis does love being a Tiger, and has a personal respect for the coaches.
"When the new coaches came they preached team unity," Willis said, "it took us a while to find it, but we finally found it this year." Willis agrees that the Missouri football team is based on unity; although everyone has their individual roles, he emphasizes coming together as a team. His position, outside safety, is one that he personally enjoys.
"It's tough, hard-hitting, you have to be fast and strong," Willis says excitedly.
"The most difficult part of football, is there is always adversity," but he emphasizes, "the key is that you have to get through it together." He believes that adversity and unity helps you become a better competitor. He also laughs and adds "...it does help having Brad Smith on the field."
As Willis' career is winding down, he looks to the future with an open heart and an extremely focused mind. As you can imagine he has many goals for the rest of his life. Upon graduation Willis will have an International Studies degree, as well as minors in both business and Spanish. He leaves for Spain this January to study abroad, and after he returns he plans on finding a job in St. Louis, and as he says, "...enjoy life, enjoy being young, make a few dollars."
Life is one big adventure for Trey Willis. An adventure that began a long time ago, but the road to ahead is wide open.
"I'd like to run a marathon, have financial stability, and," he paused, "I want to have a happy family." These are three simple goals to achieve from a man that will not settle for anything less than the best; from a man that every day asks himself one question, 'do I have what it takes to succeed?'"
