Eric Willis III

#19 · WR · Sr. · UTEP5′8″ · 160 lb · Collingdale, PA

Eric Willis III is a wide receiver who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at UTEP.

Willis moves the chains on third down. Transferred to UTEP from PennWest California. On tape: 45 receiving yards and 5 receptions against Missouri State, Week 12, 2025.

Style of play

Play style

Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Isiah PaigeOld Dominion · 2022 · 82% season match
Eric WeatherlyBall State · 2025 · 78% season match
Ja'Carree KellyDelaware · 2025 · 77% season match
Isaac RossMassachusetts · 2022 · 76% season match

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2025	UTEP	27	290	10.7	2	43
Career		27	290	10.7	2	43

Season	Team
2025	UTEP	3	5	45	88
Career		3	5	45	88

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	L 16-28@ Utah State	5	35	7.0	0	14
Wk 2	W 42-17vs UT Martin	3	25	8.3	0	12
Wk 3	L 10-27@ No. 7 Texas	1	4	4.0	0	4
Wk 4	L 25-31vs UL Monroe	2	41	20.5	0	32
Wk 5	L 11-30vs Louisiana Tech	3	18	6.0	0	8
Wk 7	L 8-19vs Liberty	—	—	—	—	—
Wk 8	W 35-17vs Sam Houston	1	43	43.0	0	43
Wk 10	L 20-33@ Kennesaw State	1	36	36.0	0	36
Wk 11	L 27-30vs Jacksonville State	2	20	10.0	1	19
Wk 12	L 24-38@ Missouri State	5	45	9.0	0	15	Season-high 45 yds
Wk 14	L 31-61@ Delaware	4	23	5.8	1	9
Total		27	290	10.7	2	43

Signature game

Week 11 · 2025

L 27-30

vs Jacksonville State

2 rec · 20 yds · 1 TD

With S. Locklear — 244 yds · 2 TD · 1 INT · QBR 41.1 · 82 rush yds (17 car) · 2 TD · N. Botsford — 54 yards per punt · 4 punts · 3 inside the 20

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 10 · Kennesaw State · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.98Locklear to Willis III: a 36-yard pass.
Week 11 · Jacksonville State · 2nd and 9 · Q4 · EPA +2.91Locklear to Willis III: a 19-yard touchdown pass.
Week 4 · UL Monroe · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +2.46Malachi Nelson pass complete to Eric Willis III for 32 yds to the ULM 35 for a
Week 12 · Missouri State · 3rd and 4 · Q2 · EPA +1.86Locklear to Willis III: a 10-yard pass.
Week 12 · Missouri State · 3rd and 5 · Q2 · EPA +1.68Locklear to Willis III: a 7-yard pass.
Week 1 · Utah State · 2nd and 5 · Q3 · EPA +1.66Malachi Nelson pass complete to Eric Willis III for 14 yds to the 50 yard line for a

4 more plays

Week 1 · Utah State · 2nd and 6 · Q2 · EPA +1.27Malachi Nelson pass complete to Eric Willis III for 8 yds to the UTEP 42 for a
Week 2 · UT Martin · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +1.23Malachi Nelson pass complete to Eric Willis III for 9 yds to the UTEP 33
Week 14 · Delaware · 1st and 2 · Q2 · EPA +1.21Locklear to Willis III: a 2-yard touchdown pass.
Week 14 · Delaware · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +1.15Locklear to Willis III: a 9-yard pass.

Receiving profile

Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth

How often he's targeted, and how well it works

27 rec · 290 yds · 2 TD

24 of 27 receptions matched to play-by-play

15 of 42 targets charted for true throw depth

Targets

4212% of team targets

Catch rate

57%24 of 42 targets

Behind LOS · Negative air yds

20% of targets (3)

67%catch rate

Air -3.3 · YAC 7.5 avg

Short · 0–9 air yds

60% of targets (9)

78%catch rate

Air 3.8 · YAC 4.0 avg

Middle · 10–19 air yds

20% of targets (3)

33%catch rate

Air 13.7 · YAC 21.0 avg

57% catch rate on 42 targets · 12% of the team's targets.

Situational

Situational · Share of own targets (PBP, 2025)

Third-down role

26%11 of his 42 targets came on third down · Receiver median is 24%

Teams and coaches

2025UTEP2-10HC: Scotty Walden · Balanced

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 33 (#382 of 485). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2025 season

33Below cohort / limited sample #382 of 485 · 2025?

13 metrics · season cumulative

2025 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Concern: epa / target (13th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Yards / catch#595 / 798 · 26th pct

9.4

Explosive rate#643 / 798 · 19th pct

4.8%

TD rate#507 / 798 · 18th pct

0.0%

Catch rate#671 / 798 · 16th pct

57.1%

EPA / target#692 / 798 · 13th pct

0.13

Box-score rates (8)

Rec TDs#276 / 558 · 42nd pct

Receptions#320 / 558 · 41st pct

Long catch#332 / 558 · 39th pct

Rush TDs#67 / 287 · 39th pct

Rec yards#363 / 558 · 35th pct

290

Rush yards#190 / 287 · 32nd pct

Yards / catch#431 / 558 · 23rd pct

10.7

Fumbles lost#196 / 218 · 6th pct

Season trend

EPA / target— first qualifying season

Explosive rate— first qualifying season

Catch rate— first qualifying season

TD rate— first qualifying season

Yards / catch— first qualifying season

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2025. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home5g	2.0	20.8	11.2	0.2
Road5g	3.2	28.6	12.4	0.2

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-76g	2.3	20.5	9.2	0.0
Weeks 8+5g	2.6	33.4	20.8	0.4

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Scotty Walden

Pass share

52.4%

410 pass / 372 run

Plays / game

65.2

12 games

Team sack rate

6.2%

452 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

27 catches and 3 carries in 11 games

Fewer catches a game than most FBS receivers who play every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

33 · #382 of 485 WRs · 2025

2026 outlook

Outside shot for All-Mountain West

Based on 2025: #38 of 52 Conference USA WRs — his program moves to the Mountain West for 2026

How the All-Mountain West base rate is computed

A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%). It was measured on players who stayed in the same conference and is not adjusted for the move to the Mountain West.