Jackson State transfer and Mansfield High grad living out his dream playing for TCU
Steve Avila and Willis Patrick grew up with the same dream of playing for TCU after high school.
Avila just put the finishing touches on an amazing career that saw him be named an All-American while helping lead TCU to the national championship game.
As he prepares to be one of the first interior offensive linemen drafted in next week’s NFL draft, his best friend is now living out his dream after transferring from Jackson State to Fort Worth earlier this year.
“I’ve loved it,” Patrick said a few days before the spring game. “This is my third school coming from Jackson State and Angelo State before that, TCU was always my dream school and I’m living out my childhood dreams being here.”
Patrick, from Grand Prairie, was a Division II All-American at Angelo State and started all 11 games he played for Deion Sanders and Jackson State.
It’s fitting that Patrick is finally living out his dream while also replacing Avila, who was the rock of TCU’s fantastic offensive line last year and one of the best offensive linemen in the country.
A TCU player ended up being the one to introduce to the two when they were younger.
“Willis went to Mansfield High, but he went to middle school in Grand Prairie, that’s where I went to middle,” Avila said. “Atanza Vongor, who used to be on TCU’s team, invited me to church. I would go all the time, Vongor and Willis knew each other and we used to always hang out with each other and it went from there.”
If Avila had it his way, Patrick would’ve been in Fort Worth sooner.
“Believe it or not I tried to get him to come here last year,” Avila said. “This is something I always wanted for him.”
Avila knew better than anybody how much it would mean for his friend to finally suit up for the Horned Frogs. Avila committing to TCU in March of 2017 only added to the appeal of the program.
“I’m from the area, I grew up watching TCU,” Patrick said. “I’ve always wanted to play at TCU. Me and Avila we grew up together and he was coming here and I tried my hardest to get here, but it didn’t work out. It worked out in the end and I’m here now. Things happen for a reason.”
Indeed they do and when Avila heard his best friend was in the portal again after Sanders departed to take the Colorado coaching job, he did what he could to make sure Patrick landed in Fort Worth this time.
“I reached out to Coach (A.J.) Ricker and said, Hey man, he’s my friend, I feel like he would fit in very well with the group,” Avila said.
Avila knew what he was talking about as Patrick quickly gained the respect of Ricker and his teammates during the spring. He ran with the first team offense all spring, showing his versatility at right guard and center.
His play was impressive this spring, but it was his character that resonated the most in the offensive linemen room, even with Ricker who is known for his intensity.
“Great kid, it’s super important to him,” Ricker said. “I don’t yell at every guy, you’ve got to learn your players and build relationships with them. He’s a guy that if he messed up and I go yell at him, he’s already down on himself. He’s not a guy that needs a foot in his rear end all the time.
“He was another guy we put at center and from what I saw off the hoof, he looked pretty decent.”
The ability to be coached and the desire to strive for perfection are just a few of the qualities that make Patrick the player he is. He wants to constantly improve and receive feedback, which is why he’s already seen a big jump in his game from just a few weeks of spring football.
“It’s going great with Coach Ricker,” Patrick said. “Starting out at my other two schools I had, I just relied on athleticism and not much technique. Coach Ricker has worked me out of that to make sure I’m working my technique and adding my athleticism to it so I can become the best player I can be.”
The coaching is everything he expected to be and the environment of the program established under Sonny Dykes might be even better.
“The culture here is already great, it’s a player-led team,” Patrick said. “Coach Dykes has done a great job of giving these guys the ropes and tell them you’ve got to lead, this team goes as far as the leadership goes. That’s what Coach Dykes and Coach (Kaz) Kazadi preach everyday.
“I came here in and these guys took me under their wing, Brandon Coleman, Andrew Coker really helped me out as much as they could. They’ve got a really good culture here and I’m glad to be apart of it.”
It was easy for Coleman and the other offensive linemen to wrap their arms around Patrick and he quickly became one of the guys despite still being relatively new to campus.
“He’s a great guy,” Coleman said. “Everybody loves him, he’s already one of our best friends. He’s adjusting well to playing guard, he didn’t play a lot of guard at Jackson State, but he’s adjusted pretty well.”
From tackle to guard to center, Avila and Patrick both had the versatility to be moved around as their teams needed. Along versatility, Avila said the two are similar off the football field.
“I’m a big goofy guy, Me and Willis are sort of the same,” Avila said. “We have the same sense of humor, how we go about things. In terms of being a leader, I think we have a lot of the same qualities. I feel like he can also command a room.”
The similarities don’t just stop there, Avila sees a lot of his game in Patrick’s as well which should excite TCU fans.
“He’s a big, muscly, gritty guy that can knock people over at will,” Avila said. “From a technical standpoint I think he has that down as well. Hopefully this season we’ll see a lot of awards coming for him and the rest of the guys.”
TCU not only gained a potential starter, but also a great person in Patrick. However, this seemless fit between the two almost never happened despite how much Patrick wanted to be at TCU.
“Originally going into it, I had my mind made up, I was going somewhere else,” Patrick said. “But once Coach Ricker called me that first day I was in the portal I had to listen. Steve called me and talked to me about a lot of things, it was a really hard decision, but then it became a no-brainer.
“To play in front of my family, everybody really hasn’t gotten a chance to travel and see me play, so it’ll be a great experience. My family is excited, it’s been a great transition.”
