Willis McGahee's Bio

TRANSACTIONS
Willis McGahee signed with the Baltimore Ravens (trade with the Buffalo Bills) on 3/9/07..Originally selected by the Bills with the 23rd-overall pick in the 1st round of the 2003 NFL Draft.

HIGHLIGHTS
Fearless, aggressive and strong runner with explosive speed, who can pick up the tough yards...Has soft hands out of the backfield and can protect the QB with blocking skills...Entering 2007, has started 40 of 46 games, carrying the ball 868 times for 3,365 yards and 24 TDs...Added 68 receptions for 503 yards...For his career, McGahee averages 1,122 yards, 3.9 yards per carry and 8 TDs per season (he did not play in 2003 due to a knee injury suffered in college)...McGahee posted 990 rushing yards and 6 TDs in 14 games in 2006 and established a new career high with 150 yards on 26 carries, averaging 5.8 yards per attempt, against the NYJ (9/24/06)...McGahee rumbled for a career-high 1,247 yards on 325 carries (5th highest in team history) in 2005...Became the 5th player in club history to post consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and is the quickest player in Bills history to reach the 2,000-yard rushing mark, accomplishing the feat in 26 games…Finished with 1,128 rushing yards in 2004, marking the 2nd-most yards in Bills history for a 1st-year RB...Eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark 7 times in 11 starts, setting a new record for 1st-year Bills (3 by Joe Cribbs and Greg Bell)…His 5 multi-TD games in ’04 are the 2nd-most by a Bill in a single season (O.J. Simpson’s 6 in 1975)…In addition, his 13 rushing TDs tied for the 2nd-highest total in team history (O.J. Simpson’s 16 in 1975)…Spent the 1st 8 games of the 2003 season on the NFI (Non-Football Injury) list and was elevated to the 53-man roster prior to the game at Dal. (11/9), spending the remainder of the season inactive as a rookie.

PRO CAREER
2006 (with Buffalo) Started 14 games (missing 2 due to a rib injury)...Finished the season with 259 carries for 990 yards (3.8 avg.) and 6 TDs…Also pulled in 18 receptions for 156 yards...SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: Averaged 4.3 yards per carry, rushing 22 times for 95 yards and 1 TD, in addition to 2 receptions for 20 yards in game 15 vs. Ten. (12/24)...Rumbled for a game-high 125 yards on 16 carries and a career-long 57-yard TD in game 13 at NYJ (12/10)…That performance marked the 5th-consecutive 100-yard rushing game against Jets, the 1st time in Bills history a rusher posted 100-yard games in back-to-back season series against 1 opponent...Had a game-high 59 yards on 20 carries in game 7 vs. NE (10/22)...Also tallied 2 catches for 61 yards, including a 56-yard effort on a shovel pass, marking the longest reception by a Bills’ RB since a 69-yarder by Thurman Thomas (10/6/96 vs. Ind.)…Carried the ball 26 times and averaged 5.7 yards per attempt while establishing a new career high with 150 yards on the ground in game 3 vs. NYJ (9/24)...Rushed 25 times for 91 yards and had a reception for 6 yards in game 2 at Mia. (9/17).
2005 (with Buffalo) Saw action in all 16 games, starting 15 and posted a career-high 1,247 rushing yards on 325 carries (5th highest in Buffalo history)…McGahee also became the 5th player in club history to post consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and was the quickest player in team history to reach the 2,000-yard rushing mark, accomplishing the feat in 26 games…SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: Closed the season averaging 5.1 yards per carry with 113 yard on 22 carries in the season finale at NYJ (1/1/06)...McGahee also added a then-career-long 19-yard reception against the Jets…Rushed 31 times for a game-high 136 yards, marking his 11th 100-plus yard game (moving him to 5th in Bills history) in game 8 at NE (10/30)...Also posted 2 receptions for 21 yards against the Patriots…Posted a then-career-best 143 rushing yards and scored a TD for the 4th-consecutive game in game 6 vs. NYJ (10/16)...Rushed for 140 yards on 27 carries and scored a TD in game 3 vs. Atl. (9/25)…Gained a game-high 117 yards on 22 carries (5.3 avg.), his 8th 100-yard rushing game in the season opener vs. Hou (9/11).
2004 (with Buffalo) Saw action in 16 games, starting 11 in his 1st active season in the NFL...Led the team with 1,128 rushing yards (2nd most in Bills history for a 1st-year RB)...Posted 7 100-yard games in 11 starts, setting a new record for 1st-year Bills RB (old record: 3 by Joe Cribbs and Greg Bell)…In addition, his 13 rushing TDs tied him for 2nd in team history, behind O.J. Simpson’s 16 in 1975...His 5 multi-TD games are the 2nd most by a Bill in a single season (O.J. Simpson 6 in 1975)…SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: Eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the 1st time in his career in game 15 at SF (12/26) on a 20-yard run in the 3rd quarter to finish with 102 yards and 2 TDs on 15 carries, averaging a career-high 6.8 yards per carry...McGahee also caught 1 pass for 14 yards against the 49ers…Carried the ball 28 carries for 116 yards (4.1 avg.) and a career-high 4 TDs in game 11 at Sea. (11/28)...McGahee also pulled in 2 receptions for 26 yards and became the 3rd Bill to ever rush for 4-plus TDs in a single game with his 4 scores...Carried the ball 37 times for 132 yards and 1 TD in game 8 vs. NYJ (11/7)...His 37 carries were the most by a Bill since Thurman Thomas registered 37 carries on 11/8/92, and the 2nd highest in team history (39 by O.J. Simpson, 10/29/73)…Registered his 2nd-career start in game 7 vs. Ari. (10/31) and carried the ball 30 times for 102 yards and 2 TDs...His 2 rushing TDs were the 1st scores of his career...He also had 2 rushes of over 20 yards (23 & 24) on the team’s 1st drive, marking the 4th-straight game McGahee registered runs of 15-plus yards…Started his 1st-career NFL game and averaged 4.3 yards per carry as he rushed for 111 yards on 26 carries in game 5 vs. Mia. (10/17)…His 111 rushing yards in only his 5th NFL game ranked him as the 3rd-quickest Bill in history to eclipse the century mark in the beginning of his career and the highest yardage total for any Bills RB in his 1st-career start...McGahee’s 31-yard rush in the 4th quarter was his 1st-career run of over 30 yards…He also caught 3 passes for 31 yards against the Dolphins, including a 9-yard 4th-down reception in the 2nd quarter.
2003 (with Buffalo) Spent the 1st 8 games of the season on the NFI (Non-Football Injury) list and was elevated to the 53-man roster prior to game 9 at Dal. (11/9)…Spent the remainder of the season inactive.

COLLEGE CAREER
Played just 21 games at Miami but established himself as one of the top scoring backs in the history of college football…Gained 2,067 career yards on 349 carries (5.9 avg.) with 31 TDs...Also caught 25 passes for 355 yards (13.1 avg.) and had a 35-yard KOR for the Hurricanes…His 2,067 career rushing yards and 31 scores ranked 5th on the school’s all-time record lists…His 186 career points scored ranked 6th in Hurricane annals at the end of his college career…Was a consensus All-America and All-Big East Conference 1st-team selection as a sophomore in 2002…Was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, and finished 4th in the voting (660 points)…Shattered school season records, as he carried 282 times for 1,753 yards (6.2 avg.) and 28 TDs, breaking the previous marks of 1,416 yards and 17 scores by Edgerrin James in 1998…In Division IA history, only Nebraska’s Mike Rozier (29 in 1983) and Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders (37 in 1988) ran for more TDs in a season…His 10 100-yard performances broke the old Hurricane season-record of 8 (Ottis Anderson, 1978)…Added 350 yards on 24 receptions (14.6 avg)…Gained 2,108 all-purpose yards, breaking the old Miami season-record of 1,708 by Anderson in 1978…His 204 yards on 24 attempts against Florida, as he joined Lorenzo Roan (249 vs. East Carolina in 1980) and Edgerrin James (271 vs. Boston College in 1977 and 299 vs. UCLA in 1998) as the only players in school history to rush for over 200 yards in a game…With his 205-yard effort and 6-TDs vs. Virginia Tech, he became the 1st player in school history to rush for over 200 yards twice in the same season...Those 6 TDs broke the old school game-record of 5, set by Bill L’Italien vs. Piedmont in 1933…Saw action in 8 games at reserve tailback behind starter Clinton Portis as a freshman in 2001…Finished with 67 carries for 314 yards (4.7 avg.) and 3 TDs…Also had 35 yards on a KOR...Redshirted in 2000...Majored in criminology at Miami.

PERSONAL
Regarded as one of the top RBs in the nation and the best in Florida at Central (Miami, FL) HS...Rushed for 771 yards and scored 14 TDs on 77 carries in just 8 games his senior year...Averaged more than 8 yards per carry as a junior, as he was listed as the 6th-best RB on PrepStar’s 1999 Top 100 Dream Team and the 10th-best overall prospect in the Southeast Region...Rated the 5th-best RB nationally and 11th-best overall prospect in Florida by SuperPrep...Also a USA Today honorable mention All-American…Named the best RB in Florida on the Florida Times-Union Super 75 list...Attended the Ravens annual Spring Football Festival at M&T Bannk Stadium in April of 2007, where he signed autographs and spoke and fan forums...Full name: Willis Andrew McGahee III.