Current Roster | All-Time Roster
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Willie Wyatt Offensive Lineman/Defensive Lineman
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| Photo by Chris Arnold |
Height: 6-2
Weight: 280
Date of Birth: 9/27/67
College: Alabama
Year-by-Year:
1993: Played for Tim Marcum in Detroit...Recorded three sacks for 18 yards in 1993 as he saw regular duty for the Drive in their run to ArenaBowl VII.1995: Returned to the AFL after a year off...Finished second on the Storm in sacks (3.5)...Forced a fumble at Las Vegas (6/2)...Blocked two passes vs. Orlando (7/29)...Had multi-tackle games against Orlando (7/29) and Milwaukee (8/4)...Notched sacks in his first two games with the Storm against Charlotte (5/27) and Las Vegas (6/2).
1996: Accounted for six tackles, an assist, a sack, a blocked field goal and a forced fumble, but made his greatest impact on the offensive side of the ball as a steady, reliable blocker...Missed the first game vs. St. Louis (4/26) due to job conflicts; he played in 11 of the next 13 games and in all three playoff games...Blocked field goal attempts against San Jose (6/1) and in the playoffs against Anaheim (8/9).
1997: Was the steadiest performer on the Storm's line, and was the only lineman to play in all 14 regular season games...Blocked field goals against Milwaukee (5/30) and Iowa (7/19)...The block against the Mustangs went out of the end zone for a safety to close the first half...The latter block, against the Barnstomers, came in the first quarter...Was a party to one of the most bizarre plays in AFL history against Anaheim (7/12) where he rushed through the line and actually grabbed the ball off the kicking tee while Piranha kicker Ian Howfield and holder James Guidry could only watch in amazement. Wyatt rolled inside the five-yard-line, setting up a touchdown...Teamed with Jerold Jeffcoat for a sack of San Jose QB Cree Morris for a safety (8/2)...Named to the All-Arena Football League team for the first time in his career, thanks to his solid, mistake-free play on both sides of the line and his ability to create pressure from the interior of the defensive line.
1998: First-team All-Arena Football League for the second consecutive season...Is considered the league's finest interior lineman...Set a career high for sacks (3.5) and played in all 14 games...Played both ways but did not record any statistics at San Jose (5/1)...Made two assists and shared a sack with Lynn Rowland against (5/9)...Started at center/nose guard; posted the Storm's only sack and forced a fumble (5/16)...Posted no statistics against Florida (5/23), New York (6/6) and Orlando (6/12)...Recorded an assist and one tackle for a loss at New Jersey (5/30)...Recovered a fumble and broke up a pass...Posted an assist at Orlando (6/27)...At Houston (7/2), recorded a third quarter sack of ThunderBear quarterback Clint Dolezel for a six-yard loss...Ended the game with one unassisted tackle, his first solo stop of the season...Recorded one tackle and one assist, including a tackle for a loss of one yard, against Florida (7/12)...Posted one assisted tackle at Nashville (7/17)...Against Iowa (7/25), he blocked two Steve Opstad field goal attempts, one from 58 yards and one from 47 yards...His first block, on the Barnstormers' first possession of the game, gave the Storm the ball at the Iowa four-yard-line and led to a Stevie Thomas touchdown catch...Wyatt's second block ended the first half...At Grand Rapids (8/1), he posted a sack of Grand Rapids QB Cory Pullig in the fourth quarter, forcing the Rampage to settle for a field goal...Broke up a pass...In the postseason, he saw substantial playing time in all three games, recording two assists on defense as his only entries into the stat books.
1999: Reported for active duty one day before the start of the season...Posted an assist in the season opener against Albany (4/24)...Played both ways against Milwaukee, applying sustained pressure on Mustang QB Todd Hammel, but recorded no stats...Notched an assist in the Week Three win over Florida (5/15).
Career Highlights: Started eight games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1990...Has experience with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles, as well as the World League's Orlando Thunder...Named second-team All-America in his sophomore year at Alabama (1987).
AFL Statistics
1999 GAME-BY-GAME DEFENSE Date Opponent TKL AST SKS YDS FF-FR INT YDS TD ------------------------------------------------------------- 4/24 Albany 0 1 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 4/29 Milwaukee 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 5/15 Florida 0 1 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 ------------------------------------------------------------- SEASON TOTALS 0 2 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 CAREER DEFENSE Year Team TKL AST SKS YDS FF-FR INT YDS TD ------------------------------------------------------------- 1993 Detroit 8 2 3 18 0-0 0 0 0 1995 Tampa Bay 6 2 3.5 10 0-0 0 0 0 1996 Tampa Bay 6 1 1 7 1-0 0 0 0 1997 Tampa Bay 9 5 1.5 11 1-1 0 0 0 1998 Tampa Bay 2 6 3.5 29 1-1 0 0 0 1999 Tampa Bay 0 2 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 ------------------------------------------------------------- CAREER TOTALS 31 18 12.5 75 3-2 0 0 0