Willis Crockett

Crockett attended Coffee County High School, where he played as a defensive back and wide receiver. He also practiced baseball and basketball.

He accepted a football scholarship from Georgia Tech. As a freshman, he was named a starter at safety, registering 47 tackles and 2 interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and earned freshman All-American honors.^[1]

As a sophomore, he was converted into an outside linebacker and earned a starting position. He collected 55 tackles (5 for loss) and 2 quarterback hurries.

As a junior, he required arthroscopic surgery before the season, to fix a knee injury that limited him from the previous year. He tallied 57 tackles, one sack and led the team with 6 tackles for loss.

As a senior, he was a part of a defense that ranked 14th in the nation with 384.2 total yards allowed per game and seventh in passing with 138.9 yards allowed. He posted 67 tackles, 6 sacks (second on the team), 14 quarterback pressures (led the team), 4 tackles for loss (second on the team) and 3 fumble recoveries (tied for the team lead). He also received All-ACC and honorable-mention All-American honors.^[2]

Crockett was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round (119th overall) of the 1989 NFL draft.^[3][4] As a rookie, he tore his left anterior cruciate ligament during training camp and was placed on the injured reserve list on August 28.^[5]

In 1990, he was an early training camp surprise, but was slowed by a sprained ankle and waived injured on September 3.^[6] He was re-signed on September 12, to be a backup middle linebacker and also play on special teams.^[7] He appeared in 13 games, registering 9 defensive tackles, including 4 in his first regular season game against the New York Giants on September 16. He was released before the start of the 1991 season.