FSU Retro Look Back:Peter Tom Willis

Peter Tom Willis played for the Noles from 1985-1989. To many younger Nole fans, Willis is thought of as the hard hitting analyst for the FSU football games on the radio. Since 1998, he has served as the radio color commentator for the Florida State University Seminoles, where he played his collegiate football. Currently working in the broadast booth with him is "the voice of the Seminoles", long time FSU play-by-play announcer Gene Deckerhoff.

Originally from Morris, Alabama, Willis, who came to FSU from Morris, Alabama, had to bide his time and wait for his chance behind some great Seminole signal callers. In fact, he did not start until his senior year, but he made the most of it by setting a total of 15 new school records in 1989. He surpassed Seminole great, and fellow Hall of Famer, Gary Huff to become Florida State's top single season passer with 3,124 yards. He also set the record for passes completed in a season (211), most 300-yard passing games (six), as well as touchdown passes in a game (six). In addition to a fantastic senior season, Willis set five Florida State career records including best passing efficiency at 148.5.

Willis' senior season saw the Seminoles lose their first two games before roaring back with 10 straight wins over the likes of Syracuse, Auburn, Miami, and Florida. On a team that many considered the nation's best at year's end, Willis helped put the exclamation point of that notion with a 41-17 win over Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl.

During his successful senior year in 1989 (his first and only season as the starting quarterback), he led the team to 10 straight victories, including an impressive 41-7 win over the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Fiesta Bowl. It was also during that year that he set several team passing records.

After college, he went on to play professional football for the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League. Willis was inducted as a member of the Florida State University Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.