Donald Willis: LB · Western Michigan · #15.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Donald Willis
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. Played for two head coaches across six seasons and two programs. The first one came in 2024: All-MAC. A game that shows it: 14 tackles and 1 sack against Eastern Michigan — Week 14, 2024.
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
109 tackles. 4 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 6 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Western Michigan | 109 | 62 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 4 |
| 2023 | Western Michigan | 40 | 26 | 6.5 | 3.5 | 2 |
| 2022 | Minnesota | 15 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| 2021 | Minnesota | 16 | 13 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2 |
| 2020 | Minnesota | 10 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| 2019 | Minnesota | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 191 | 118 | 13.0 | 4.5 | 8 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 13 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 14-28@ Wisconsin | 10 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 2 | L 0-56@ No. 2 Ohio State | 11 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 59-31vs Bethune-Cookman | 6 | 3 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 20-27@ Marshall | 7 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 45-42@ Ball State | 9 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 34-24vs Akron | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 48-41@ Buffalo | 7 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 52-21vs Kent State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 28-42vs Northern Illinois | 9 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 13-31@ Bowling Green | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 14-16@ Central Michigan | 12 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 26-18vs Eastern Michigan | 14 | 9 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 14 tackles |
 Bowl | L 23-30vs South Alabama | 10 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 109 | 62 | 6.0 | 1.0 | — | 4 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
109tackles this seasonTFL rate
6%6 TFLSack rate
1%1 sackPD rate
4%4 pass breakups109 tackles · 6 for loss · 1 sack.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 7.2 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road7g | 9.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 8.3 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 8.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lance Taylor
Pass share
40.6%
323 pass / 473 run
Plays / game
61.2
13 games
Team sack rate
6.1%
329 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2024
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
How it ended
Six seasons, at Minnesota and Western Michigan, 191 tackles — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MAC
All-MAC mention (2024)
Coaching lineage · 2019–2024
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: P.J. Fleck and Lance Taylor.
