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Darren Willis (born December 19, 1964) is a former Arizona State University [1] football player who played professional American football for the Tampa Bay Storm. [2]
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Darren Willis (born December 19, 1964) is a former Arizona State University [1] football player who played professional American football for the Tampa Bay Storm. [2]
He is an alumnus of Santa Monica High where he starred as a player on the 1982 CIF football champions and was teammates with Sam Anno and USC standout Keith Davis on the team that beat Long Beach Poly 21-8. He was also teammates in high school with fellow Santa Monica defensive back Junior Thurman who eventually along with Sam Anno transferred to USC after playing football at West LA College. Darren starred as a player on the 1982 CIF championship football team and also played defense with Dean Cain, who starred as a defensive back on the 1981-82 team that beat Long Beach Poly 21-8 before accepting a scholarship to play football at Princeton University. Willis later became a coach on the Santa Monica staff in 2001 and helped guide the Vikings to a CIF title the school's first since he was a prep at the school.
Willis was the starting free safety on the 1987 Rose Bowl Champions team that helped the Sun Devils reach their first appearance in the 1987 Rose Bowl. The Sun Devils were the 1986 Pac-10 Champions and beat both USC and UCLA in Los Angeles and a 16-9 win over the Bruins on October 4, 1987, would prove to be the deciding game in the conference. Jeff Van Raaphorst, who led Arizona State to its first Rose Bowl appearance, defeating Michigan 22-15, in the 1987 game. Van Raaphorst passed for 193 yards and two touchdowns in the game, out-dueling the Wolverines' Jim Harbaugh, and capturing Rose Bowl MVP honors. (The Arizona State University quarterback and 1987 Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player Jeff Van Raaphorst was eventually inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame).
Willis grabbed 6 receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown in the 1991 Arena Bowl championship and was named the game's Ironman. [2] He is currently recognized as one of the top athletics trainers working with current NFL players such as Shawne Merriman. Willis holds a degree from Arizona State University in Kinesiology and has successfully developed personal workout plans for High school, college, and NFL football players to maximize their athletic potential.
Matthew Stephen Leinart is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy and led his team to an undefeated season as a junior, culminating with a victory in the 2005 BCS National Championship. Selected 10th overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2006 NFL Draft, Leinart primarily served as Kurt Warner's backup for four seasons. He spent his final three seasons in a backup role for the Houston Texans and Oakland Raiders. Leinart was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
Napoleon "Nip" Kaufman is a former American football running back and currently an ordained minister and head football coach at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Oakland Raiders for the entirety of his professional football career.
Dennis Smith is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Denver Broncos from 1981 until 1994. Smith played college football for the USC Trojans.
Dennis Lee Thurman is an American football coach and former cornerback. He is the former defensive coordinator on Deion Sanders' inaugural staff at Jackson State University. He is a former coach in the National Football League (NFL) for the Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets, and in the Alliance of American Football (AAF) for the Memphis Express. He played for the Dallas Cowboys and St. Louis Cardinals. He played college football at the University of Southern California.
Kareem Kelly is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. World junior record holder over indoor 50 meters 5.67 sec. He played college football at USC.
Sam Scott Anno is a former American football linebacker, and currently a defensive assistant coach for the San Diego Strike Force of the Indoor Football League.
Robert Donald Chandler was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons.
Larry Dean Smith was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Tulane University (1976–1979), the University of Arizona (1980–1986), the University of Southern California (1987–1992), and the University of Missouri (1994–2000).
The 2006 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season, winning the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) and playing in the Rose Bowl. The team was coached by Pete Carroll, led on offense by quarterback John David Booty, and played their home games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Michael Watson Sherrard is a former professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants, and Denver Broncos. He played college football at UCLA.
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The Arizona State Sun Devils football team represents Arizona State University in the sport of American football. The Sun Devils team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12). Arizona State University has fielded a football team since 1897. The Sun Devils are led by head coach Kenny Dillingham and play their home games at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils have won seventeen conference titles, including three Pac-12 titles.
The 1987 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1987, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. It was the 73rd Rose Bowl Game. The Arizona State Sun Devils, champions of the Pacific-10 Conference, defeated the Michigan Wolverines, champions of the Big Ten Conference, 22–15.
Jeffrey Richard Van Raaphorst is a former American football quarterback. After going to high school at Grossmont High School in La Mesa, California, Van Raaphorst attended Arizona State University. He led the Sun Devils football team to the Pac-10 championship in his senior year, where they won the 1987 Rose Bowl. He was the Rose Bowl Player of the Game.
Erik Konrad Affholter is a former professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Green Bay Packers. As a 16-year-old place kicker during his junior season of high school he broke a national record with a 64-yard field goal, which at the time was the longest field goal kicked at any level. At the University of Southern California, he was an All-American and established USC records for most receptions in a season, and in a career.
The 2009 Pacific-10 Conference football season started on Thursday, September 3, 2009. Oregon won the Pac-10 title, which had been held by USC for the past seven years. Seven conference teams were invited to participate in post season bowl games, with only UCLA and USC winning their bowl games.
Toussaint L'Ouverture Tyler is a former running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played with New Orleans Saints in 1981 and 1982.
The 1986 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. They were coached by Larry Smith in his seventh and final season. The Wildcats ended the season with a 9–3 record and won the Aloha Bowl against North Carolina for their first bowl win ever.
The 1986 Arizona State Sun Devils football team represented Arizona State University during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season.
The 1990 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth season under head coach Dick Tomey, the Wildcats compiled a 7–5 record, finished in fifth place in the Pac-10, were shut out in the 1990 Aloha Bowl by Syracuse, and were outscored by their opponents, 311 to 267. The team played its home games in Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona.