Midseason accolades have started to roll in for Miami Hurricanes’ Gerald Willis

Not only has Gerald Willis been one of the best stories of the Miami Hurricanes’ season, he has also been their best player. On Monday, ESPN rewarded the defensive lineman for his monster first half by placing him on its midseason All-America team.

Willis is the only Miami player to crack ESPN’s team, which only includes first-team selections. The redshirt senior is the only player from a Florida school and one of only two players from an ACC team other than the Clemson Tigers.

At the midway point of the season, Willis has been a fixture in opposing backfields. The defensive tackle ranks second nationally with 13 tackles for a loss, including two sacks. His 36 total tackles are fourth on the team and the most by any Hurricanes defensive lineman.

“It’s been an up-and-down career for the 6-foot-4, 300-pound Willis, who started his career at Florida before being dismissed from the team,” ESPN’s Chris Low wrote. “He’s also weathered suspensions and a knee injury at Miami and took a leave of absence last season. But he’s come back with a vengeance this season as a redshirt senior.”

The ESPN honor is only the latest addition to a long list of accolades Willis has already garnered this season. On Oct. 5, Willis earned Outland Trophy Defensive Player of the Month honors for September. On Wednesday, Willis landed himself on the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list. Willis has established himself as a legitimate contender for the Outland, which is handed out to the nation’s top interior defensive lineman each year, and the Bednarik Award, which goes to the nation’s top defensive player regardless of position. He’s also surging up draft boards and seems like a virtual lock to be an early-round pick.

The Hurricanes haven’t placed a player on a major All-America first-team since Fox made tight end Clive Walford a first-team selection in 2014. The last player on an All-America team officially recognized by the NCAA — those selected by the Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association, Football Writers Association of America, Sporting News or Walter Camp Football Foundation — came in 2005, when offensive lineman Eric Winston and defensive back Brandon Merriweather were honored.

This story was originally published October 15, 2018 at 11:14 AM.