Boston College running back Myles Willis recognizes how special it is to travel to Dublin to play in a college football game. A graduate of the Marist School, Willis just wishes the Eagles’ game against Georgia Tech could have been a different sort of treat.
When Willis learned that the Eagles were playing the Yellow Jackets in his senior season, he had visions of returning home to play at Bobby Dodd Stadium in front of family and friends in Atlanta. Then he found out the game would be played almost 4,000 miles away from home.
“I was like, What?” Willis said. “People were reminding me this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I still think I would have rather played in Bobby Dodd, but I guess Ireland’s O.K.”
Beyond the geographical connection, the game is meaningful to Willis on a couple different levels. First, Willis was highly interested in playing for Tech, but he didn’t receive a scholarship offer until about a month before national signing day, long after he had committed to Boston College. Second, having played quarterback at Marist in an offense highly similar to Tech’s, Willis has been running Boston College’s scout-team offense since the spring. It’s an odd role for a running back expected to get a lot of playing time, but one that he’s eager to fill.
“You’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do,” Willis said. “I’ll do anything for a win in the opener.”
Willis and determination aren’t strangers. For the education and the football, Willis’ family sent him to Marist, even though they live in Conyers, a 40-mile drive to the Brookhaven school. To avoid getting caught in traffic, Willis left home before 6 a.m. Many Atlantans are familiar with the dilemma – leave home a little bit later, and the commute can take significantly longer. But it meant that Willis and his carpool buddy Kendall Baker – now an offensive tackle at Georgia – arrived well before class began at 8:15 a.m. So Willis and Baker often reclined the seats in Willis’ 1991 Acura and sacked out before taking a shower in the locker room and getting dressed for school.
“It was tough,” Willis said. “That’s one reason why I love Boston. It’s a walking city.”
Willis’ father, Herbert Willis, said that his son was late for school just once in his four years at Marist.
“It was a big sacrifice, but when it was all said and done, it was worth it,” said Herbert, a manager at the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport post office.
Boston College an ‘easy choice’
As a quarterback at Marist, Willis drew the attention of Tech coaches, who invited him to come to camps. In fact, Willis said that his first handwritten recruiting letter came from the pen of Tech cornerbacks coach Joe Speed. The interest was mutual. Because of the similarity of the unconventional offenses, Willis became a Yellow Jackets fan in a house full of Georgia fans.
However, Willis, whom Tech was recruiting as a defensive back, didn’t want to wait to see if a scholarship would materialize, and he selected Boston College prior to his senior season. He stayed committed to Boston College when Tech’s offer came after the season ended.
“It was just an easy choice for me,” he said.
At Boston College, Willis has mostly been a backup running back and has run back 67 kickoffs in three seasons. He is fourth all-time in school history with 1,613 return yards. He has also been heavily involved in Boston College’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC). This summer, he earned a position on the NCAA’s 31-member national SAAC. A communications major, Willis would like to be an athletic director after his career is over.
His scout-team role, which he’s done since spring practice, has helped give the Boston College defense a better picture of what it will see at Aviva Stadium in the opener. Eagles coach Steve Addazio has used several offensive starters to try to simulate the Jackets’ speed running the option and is himself in charge of the scout team.
“He feels like he’s at home,” Herbert Willis said.
It’s common for teams to devote extra time to preparing for Tech’s offense, be it in the spring or preseason camp. It’s not the norm for a team to have someone capable of running the option as well as Willis.
“I think that he’s a solid replication of what we try to do,” offensive line coach Mike Sewak said. “I would just hope that the speed that we would do it would be a lot better.”
Marist in Dublin
While the game won’t be in Atlanta, his home is coming to him in a way. Marist is one of three metro Atlanta schools that will play in Dublin Friday ((the Westminster School and Blessed Trinity High are the others) as part of the festivities surrounding the Tech-B.C. game. Willis was excited about the possibility of visiting with former coaches and watching the War Eagles play.
Marist coach Alan Chadwick was hopeful that Willis that his former captain, whom he described in an e-mail as “absolutely awesome as far as character and personality,” could address the team during the week. Marist will stay to watch the college game Saturday, replete with Marist connections.
Two Tech backups, quarterback Chase Martenson and offensive lineman Chet Lagod, are also Marist grads. Further, Tech band director Chis Moore once taught music at Marist, and Boston College vice president and team chaplain Jack Butler also graduated from the school.
Even though he’ll be playing in a stadium not far from the River Dodder as opposed to one named for Bobby Dodd, it can’t come soon enough for Willis.
“When I went to college, I told myself I’m going to play Georgia Tech and that hasn’t happened, and now I get the opportunity,” he said. “It’s kind of a lot of pressure because you get one opportunity. I’m a senior. I’m excited to play them.”
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