When his plebe year began at the United States Naval Academy early in the summer of 2023, Griffen Willis – now an accomplished senior defensive tackle and position captain for the Midshipmen – had recently celebrated his 18^th birthday.
 
Willis, who entered the academy directly after graduating from Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, had achieved well enough academically to avoid spending a transitional year at the Naval Academy Prep School in Newport, Rhode Island.
 
"When they told Griffen he was going direct because of his grades and SAT scores, he started giggling," recalled Susan Willis, Griffen's mother. "We thought the Naval Academy was a really good fit for him. And it was a huge undertaking, especially since he was so young."
 
"Griff was a very disciplined kid, never one to go out and party like a rock star and throw down. That was never his interest," she added. "His interest was how heavy of a weight he could lift that day. He was, and is, very intentional."
 
At age 21, Griffen Willis, 6-feet-1, 280 pounds and the youngest of four children, is the undisputed, highly intentional leader and most proven talent on this year's fast-developing defensive line at Navy.
 
And as the position captain, Willis is a stickler for knowing the details in the Mids' schemes, and for quizzing his cohorts on that subject matter.
 
"Griff has embraced that role as our captain. He is always texting our group chat, checking up on us, seeing if anyone needs to go over film with him," said Matthew Reyes, a senior backup defensive tackle. "He has really helped our young guys come along this year."
 
"[Willis] knows the playbook. He does pre-practice work and is always in the right spot. He's almost perfect," said Coleman Cauley, Navy's junior linebacker. "He has taken a leadership role in the weight room. He holds his guys up front accountable. When he looks upset at practice, you know we're doing something wrong. He's the kind of leader you want on your team."
 
Under the guidance of Willis, who sees himself as a useful bridge between defensive line coach Jerrick Hall and his unit, the Navy front has been stout against the run over the season's first six games.
 
Navy opponents have averaged 2.7 yards on a combined 217 rushing attempts.
 
"I think [Willis] has been outstanding. He is super sturdy inside, plays with great pad level and technique and he's really strong," Navy head coach Brian Newberry said. "He is a primary reason we have been able to stop the run so well. He is an anchor in there, no doubt about that."
 
Hall has been impressed with Willis throughout the stages of his development. He arrived in Annapolis as a nose guard and never got on the field as a freshman.
 
But Hall saw a sponge who sought out insights from older interior linemen such as Donald "Biscuit" Berniard and budding superstar Landon Robinson, and pushed himself hard in the classroom, on the field and in the weight room.
 
During his sophomore season in 2024, the coaching staff decided Willis had to play. He was shifted to defensive tackle, where he would complement Robinson. That pairing would click tremendously, as the well-balanced Midshipmen would go 21-5 over two seasons.
 
Willis, now the most experienced veteran on the line, said he tried his Q & A idea last summer during the Mids' organized team activities. It was not long after the graduation of numerous starters, with AP First-Team All-American nose guard and team co-captain Robinson at the forefront.
 
"We have a young defensive line this year. When I call someone out, it's just a different way of teaching, which I think is really beneficial," Willis said. "I'm not trying to punish anybody. If Coach Hall asks you what you're doing against a certain offensive front, and you're not sure, not locked in, how is Coach Hall going to trust you to take a snap in a game?"
 
"It was weird for a while, not standing next to [Robinson] doing winter workouts, not getting ready for spring ball with him, not trying to compete with him," Willis said. "I needed to step up more. Once spring ball came around, I started thinking that it was my time now. Landon couldn't back me up anymore. It made me grow up more."
 
In 2025, when Robinson (currently a rookie with the Cincinnati Bengals) and Willis manned the interior line spots from start to finish, the weightlifting and workout buddies formed a force in the middle that helped to propel the Mids' to an 11-2 year, tying the program best for victories.
 
During Navy's 10-3 season in 2024, Robinson was emerging as an elite college player, while Willis really showed his stuff over the last five games as a sophomore starter.
 
Both players shined brightly in a 31-13 rout of Army in 2024. That day the pair combined for 21 tackles, eight of them by Willis, whose nine tackles against Tulane a month earlier in his second career start still marks his career-high in total stops.
 
"I've never been more excited after a game than I was after playing my first Army game [in 2024]. I was 19. It was actually a relief to hug my parents after that was over. The coaches had the confidence in me and I capitalized on that," said Willis, who would punctuate his breakout year two weeks later by getting two sacks in Navy's gritty, 21-20 bowl win over Oklahoma.
 
In 2025, Robinson (64 tackles, 31 solo, 8.5 sacks) and Willis (48 tackles, 18 solo, 6.5 sacks), combined to register an astounding 112 tackles and 15 sacks.
 
Willis reflected on those numbers, but also stressed the countless ways he and Robinson did the bread-and-butter work of interior lineman – setting up others to make the plays that end up on stat sheets.
 
"We play reactionary positions. We read what the guards, tackles or center are telling us. Selflessness is key," Willis said. "It's a responsibility I have to take on a number of people, so we can knock the offensive line off their path. Maybe I fill two gaps so our linebackers can make a play. The older you get, the more you realize our job is less about individual success and more about doing a job so the team can succeed."
 
Hall reminisced about how, four years ago, Griffen came to visit the campus. Hall recalled a serious, articulate kid, with a funny demeanor, who didn't act or talk like a 17- or 18-year-old. He showed his competitive streak. His sense of dedication was clear, as Willis was one of the top bench-pressers at his high school.
 
"I was very impressed when I visited him at home and met his folks. But we weren't quite ready to pull the trigger," Hall said.
 
At Lake Travis, Willis fell in love with weight training as a freshman and spent two years developing on the junior varsity at the Texas Class 6A powerhouse that had won six state championships, including five straight titles from 2007-2011.
 
As a junior, Willis seemingly came out of nowhere in his first varsity season.
 
Not only was he named an All-District 26 football selection for the first of two times. Willis was recognized as the District Defensive Line Most Valuable Player.
 
But not long after that, adversity would come calling. On the first day of spring football practices, where scores of college coaches hunt for prospects each year, Willis partially tore the UCL ligament in his elbow. He missed the entire spring.
 
As a result, he was getting offers from only a few Division II and III schools. When Willis and his parents visited the Naval Academy that day in the summer of 2022, Griffen Willis was healing on schedule. He knew he had found the ideal place.
 
"Griffen was saying, 'This is where I want to go. This is where I want to be.' But he still had not gotten offered," said Dana Willis, Griffen's father.
 
Mark Boswell, a four-time NCAA high jump champion recently inducted into the University of Texas Hall of Fame, was a personal trainer and mentor who worked with Willis during his high school years and stays in touch with him. Boswell also represented Canada as a two-time Olympian and earned six national championships.
 
As Willis' senior year and final football season at Lake Travis unfolded, Navy still seemed like the only Division I offer that was possible. Boswell said his client's relentless work ethic, positivity and humility shined during those uncertain times.
 
"There is a no-quit attitude about Griffen, a mindset. He is humble. I don't think he really knows his potential," Boswell said. "If it was snowing or raining outside, we would train. When he comes home, we find a track or a rough muddy field and train. When he'd finish a [night] football game after a loss, he'd call me at 10 pm and ask 'Can we go to the field?' This man is relentless."
 
Willis stayed relentless throughout that senior season. Then, shortly before Lake Travis would compete in the first round of its postseason, with Boswell and Griffen's parents sitting separately in the stands, Dana Willis got a phone call.
 
Navy was offering his son the deal he craved.
 
The second that Griffen got the news, he called Boswell and asked him to come down to the field, where he delivered the great news with happy tears.
 
Willis' parents were so excited by the twist of fate, they decided in 2023 to move from Austin to be close to their son in Annapolis. They ended up in nearby Kent County, with a plan to sponsor several players from the football team. And to feed and entertain additional members of the team who would visit their son on short notice.
 
"I picked up a job as a physical therapist. My husband is a salesman who can work from anywhere. The food bills are fun," Susan Willis said. "I have a running tally of what's been broken – two bed frames, a bicycle, a chair, a towel rack. They love the Tex-Mex I make. Griffen also grills a mean steak and sometimes cooks breakfast for the boys to give his mother a break."
 
Griffen Willis, who majors in quantitative economics and aims to be a Navy helicopter pilot trained for rescue missions, said, "I feel the obligation to help someone else out."
 
Griffen also manages to make time for an array of interests/hobbies.
 
"I love video games. I love Spiderman. I love to be outside, taking walks or looking into space. I am on a big spectrum of music, listening to all kinds – rap, country, R&B, blues. I love to train. I think I'm a big nerd," he concludes.
 
"I really love hanging out with my [Navy] brothers at my parents' house, playing board games or cards until 2 am, or just talking, laughing and having a good time together, in the locker room after a win or wherever," he added. "The comradery we've built is an amazing thing. Some of my best moments are with my teammates."