Each year around this time it seems there are stories of players overcoming the odds to get their shot at the NFL. They like to call them ‘Cinderella stories' and the name "Rudy" gets tossed around. Austin Willis is such a player.
This 5-9, 176-pounder didn't get any interest from colleges coming out of high school. Unlike ‘Rudy', he wasn't dead set on playing for a prestigious institution such as Notre Dame. He just wanted a shot, and to get it he would walk on to the football team at small school Emporia State.
So to go from that to entering OTA's for the NFL's Oakland Raiders is quite a journey.