By Drew Kohnle
Texas Tech received a commit from Trinity Valley C.C. wide receiver and former Iowa signee Derrick Willies on Tuesday. To get a better feel for what kind of player Tech is getting with Willies, I caught up with Trinity’s offensive coordinator Clay Patterson. Willies has yet to play a down for Trinity Valley, but Patterson still has a lot of positive things to say about the receiver.
What are some things you like about Derrick’s game and what are some ways he excels on the football field?
Clay Patterson: “The first thing he brings is a maturity to the field. Derrick works, he works like he is a professional. He takes care of his body, he eats right, he works extra every day and he brings a different dimension especially to junior college from a guy who carries himself that way. It shows on the field, he is a very dynamic player. His length is very imposing, he has the ability to go up and catch the deep ball, he has the ability to run past people. For a guy that is as tall as he is, he has really good feet and really good hands. He is really the complete package from what we saw in the spring, and we are really excited about what he can bring to the table.”
How accurate are his 6-foot-3, 210-pound height and weight listings from his profile?
CP: “I would say he is 6-foot-4. I don’t think we have measured him, but he has got some length to him that’s for sure. I think he is 6-foot-4 and he is for sure 210 pounds.”
Why do you feel like Texas Tech is a good fit for him and why do you think he chose the Red Raiders?
CP: “He sought us out from the Junior college ranks because he really liked the dynamics of our offense. He really wants to be a part of a dynamic offense and he wants to be able to get the ball in a lot of different ways so that he can score points and win ball games. So I think the fit for him is being in a system where he can get the ball and help the team win. To me, that is why he chose what he did. He had wanted to be in the south, I think that was a big deal to him and he also wanted to be a part of the Big 12.”
From what you have seen, what are some things Derrick needs to work on and what are some areas he can improve not only for this next year at JUCO, but for also when he gets to the Divison-1 level?
CP: “To be honest with you, he is a pretty polished product. He’s got a long game and can go deep and his short game is pretty damn good too. He is a physical guy but the main thing with him would be just catching slant routes and hitch routes and being able to make a move and take it the distance, that would be something we want to see from him this fall, that we didn’t see in the spring.”
Do you have any official times or measurable in regards to his speed?
CP: “We don’t test our guys because as far as numbers go, it doesn’t really matter to us, just as long as they can score touchdowns. He can score a lot of touchdowns, so that is how fast I want him to be. He is fast enough to run by people and not get caught. The most surprising thing to me is how quick his feet are and his change of direction for a guy his length. To me, those aspects are really really good.”
With you being the offensive coordinator at Trinity Valley, what are some ways that you want to be able to get him the ball and how do you feel like he can be best utilized on the next level?
CP: “The first thing would be that he is obviously a deep threat and he has the ability to go up and get the football. For us he will be at the outside receiver position, our x-receiver. The last two seasons our x-receiver has broken the conference record for touchdowns and earned Division-1 scholarships. That position puts them in good one-on-one matchups and we believe Derrick will excel there and we want to keep putting him in that situation. We are going to do some things with him to get him formationally lined up so that he can stretch the field.”
Patterson and Trinity Valley had one of the most prolific offenses at any level in the country last year averaging 366 yards per game through the air and 286 yards per game on the ground. He believes Willies will fit right in with what they do at Trinity Valley and stated that there will be a lot of game film on Willies due to the offense that they run. He also thinks Tech will have to fight pretty hard to keep Willies by the time signing day rolls around.
CP: “We throw the ball a lot and he will have a great year, so I think it will be a highly contested matchup down the stretch. He already had a lot of schools coming in to see him this spring despite the little amount of time he has spent with us. If he has the year that I think he could have, there are going to be a lot of colleges trying to jump in front of him for sure.”
Texas Tech received a commit from Trinity Valley C.C. wide receiver and former Iowa signee Derrick Willies on Tuesday. To get a better feel for what kind of player Tech is getting with Willies, I caught up with Trinity’s offensive coordinator Clay Patterson. Willies has yet to play a down for Trinity Valley, but Patterson still has a lot of positive things to say about the receiver.
What are some things you like about Derrick’s game and what are some ways he excels on the football field?
Clay Patterson: “The first thing he brings is a maturity to the field. Derrick works, he works like he is a professional. He takes care of his body, he eats right, he works extra every day and he brings a different dimension especially to junior college from a guy who carries himself that way. It shows on the field, he is a very dynamic player. His length is very imposing, he has the ability to go up and catch the deep ball, he has the ability to run past people. For a guy that is as tall as he is, he has really good feet and really good hands. He is really the complete package from what we saw in the spring, and we are really excited about what he can bring to the table.”
How accurate are his 6-foot-3, 210-pound height and weight listings from his profile?
CP: “I would say he is 6-foot-4. I don’t think we have measured him, but he has got some length to him that’s for sure. I think he is 6-foot-4 and he is for sure 210 pounds.”
Why do you feel like Texas Tech is a good fit for him and why do you think he chose the Red Raiders?
CP: “He sought us out from the Junior college ranks because he really liked the dynamics of our offense. He really wants to be a part of a dynamic offense and he wants to be able to get the ball in a lot of different ways so that he can score points and win ball games. So I think the fit for him is being in a system where he can get the ball and help the team win. To me, that is why he chose what he did. He had wanted to be in the south, I think that was a big deal to him and he also wanted to be a part of the Big 12.”
From what you have seen, what are some things Derrick needs to work on and what are some areas he can improve not only for this next year at JUCO, but for also when he gets to the Divison-1 level?
CP: “To be honest with you, he is a pretty polished product. He’s got a long game and can go deep and his short game is pretty damn good too. He is a physical guy but the main thing with him would be just catching slant routes and hitch routes and being able to make a move and take it the distance, that would be something we want to see from him this fall, that we didn’t see in the spring.”
Do you have any official times or measurable in regards to his speed?
CP: “We don’t test our guys because as far as numbers go, it doesn’t really matter to us, just as long as they can score touchdowns. He can score a lot of touchdowns, so that is how fast I want him to be. He is fast enough to run by people and not get caught. The most surprising thing to me is how quick his feet are and his change of direction for a guy his length. To me, those aspects are really really good.”
With you being the offensive coordinator at Trinity Valley, what are some ways that you want to be able to get him the ball and how do you feel like he can be best utilized on the next level?
CP: “The first thing would be that he is obviously a deep threat and he has the ability to go up and get the football. For us he will be at the outside receiver position, our x-receiver. The last two seasons our x-receiver has broken the conference record for touchdowns and earned Division-1 scholarships. That position puts them in good one-on-one matchups and we believe Derrick will excel there and we want to keep putting him in that situation. We are going to do some things with him to get him formationally lined up so that he can stretch the field.”
Patterson and Trinity Valley had one of the most prolific offenses at any level in the country last year averaging 366 yards per game through the air and 286 yards per game on the ground. He believes Willies will fit right in with what they do at Trinity Valley and stated that there will be a lot of game film on Willies due to the offense that they run. He also thinks Tech will have to fight pretty hard to keep Willies by the time signing day rolls around.
CP: “We throw the ball a lot and he will have a great year, so I think it will be a highly contested matchup down the stretch. He already had a lot of schools coming in to see him this spring despite the little amount of time he has spent with us. If he has the year that I think he could have, there are going to be a lot of colleges trying to jump in front of him for sure.”
