Tag: Kenny Willekes

Kenny Willekes left off of Vikings’ 53-man roster

Kenny Willekes was one of the final cuts the Minnesota Vikings made

The Tuesday after training camp to players is much like the Monday after the season for coaches, it’s judgment day. Sometimes that means very good news about making the roster, or bad news about being left off of the roster.

For Kenny Willekes, it was bad news, as he was one of the final cuts by the Minnesota Vikings to trim their roster down to 53 players.

Willekes will most likely get signed to the Vikings practice squad and will still have a chance to impress the squad enough to hopefully earn a roster spot in the future.

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Former Michigan State football DE Charles Willekes transfers to Arkansas State

Charles Willekes, the brother of MSU great Kenny Willekes, has committed to transferring to Arkansas State.

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The brother of Michigan State football great Kenny Willekes has found a new home.

After being suspended indefinitely in October of 2020 for a misdemeanor assault charge, MSU defensive end Charles Willekes entered his name in the NCAA Transfer Portal. On Tuesday of this week, he announced that he is committing to Arkansas State to continue his playing career and education.

Willekes did not play for MSU before transferring in 2020. He redshirted in 2019. He will now get a fresh start in a new conference.

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Former Spartan DE Kenny Willekes placed on Injured Reserve for Minnesota Vikings

The former Michigan State star will miss the upcoming NFL season after suffering the injury.

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Former Michigan State star pass rusher Kenny Willekes is no stranger to adversity. In 2018, he broke his fibula in the Redbox Bowl against Oregon. On August 28th, Willekes suffered another leg injury, which led to the Minnesota Vikings to place him on the Injured Reserve list on Wednesday.

The move to the IR will mean that Willekes will not be able to return for the 2020 NFL season since the move came before the rosters were cut down to 53 players.

Willekes was drafted in the Seventh Round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Vikings, a draft position that many Spartan fans and media members considered to be pretty low for a tenacious player like Willekes.

It will be a slow road back for Willekes, but as a determined player and a textbook Spartan, I’m sure he’ll be back better than ever.

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Former MSU DE Kenny Willekes second-highest QB pressures since 2018 per PFF

Former Michigan State DE Kenny Willekes has the second-highest QB pressures since the year 2018 according to Pro Football Focus.

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Pro Football Focus tweeted out a list of college football players with the highest QB pressures since 2018. Former Michigan State Football DE Kenny Willekes ranked second on this list with 119 QB pressures since 2018. For the uninitiated, QB pressures encompass hurries, knockdowns, and sack plays.

Guess what? The only player ahead of Willekes on this list is Chase Young from Ohio State. Rather astonishing to think Kenny Willekes fell all the way down to the Seventh Round of the 2020 NFL draft despite an impressive frame and production on the field. I really hope he tears it up in the NFL to prove naysayers wrong!

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Vikings DE Kenny Willekes listed as a seventh-rounder to keep an eye on

Vikings defensive end Kenny Willekes has picked up some praise this offseason, the latest of which comes from NFL Analysis Network.

Despite being a seventh-round draft choice, Kenny Willekes has been a popular player this offseason.

Willekes was listed as a “Day 3 Hidden Gem” by Next Gen Stats. Our friends at Draft Wire also listed Willekes as Minnesota’s biggest steal in the NFL Draft.

Now, NFL Analysis Network recently got in on the Willekes praise party. Here’s what it said about the Michigan State defensive end:

“While Willekes doesn’t have any dominant traits as a pass rusher, he was extremely productive in his last three seasons at Michigan State, recording 23.5 sacks and 49 tackles for loss from 2017-2019. Seeing that Minnesota tends to utilize their group of edge rushers, Willekes could see some snaps in 2020.”

Here’s to hoping Willekes fills in where Stephen Weatherly once played. Weatherly was a reserve defensive end who played a decent number of snaps for the Vikings in 2019. He has signed with the Panthers this offseason.

The Detroit News includes Kenny Willekes among best Michigan State football players in past 25 years

The Detroit News selected the best Michigan State Football players in the past 25 years and included Defensive End Kenny Willekes.

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The Detroit News put together an impressive list of the best Michigan State football players in the past 25 years. This list features recent Spartan DE Kenny Willekes. Willekes started at Michigan State in 2016 and just wrapped up his tenure in 2019. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the 7th round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Here is what Matt Charboneau of The Detroit News wrote about Willekes:

“A former walk-on, Willekes finished his career as Michigan State’s all-time leader in tackles for loss with 51 and ranked third with 26 sacks. He won the 2019 Burlsworth Trophy, given to the nation’s most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on, and was named the 2018 Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year after leading the conference with 20.5 tackles for loss. Willekes earned second-team All-American honors twice.”

Stroll down memory lane with this list of MSU football players from the past 25 years. I think you will certainly enjoy it.

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DE Kenny Willekes listed as the Vikings’ biggest draft steal

Draft Wire thinks the Vikings got a steal in defensive end Kenny Willekes.

Defensive end Kenny Willekes is Michigan State’s all-time leader in career tackles for loss with 51. He had 16 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks for the Spartans in 2019.

Despite this, Willekes fell to the seventh round of the draft — where the Vikings took him at No. 225.

Our friends at Draft Wire tabbed Willekes as Minnesota’s biggest steal in the NFL Draft.

Looking at the advanced analytics for Willekes, this pick makes sense. Next Gen Stats listed the defensive end out of Michigan State among a group it called Day 3 Hidden Gems.

Next Gen Stats included Baylor defensive lineman James Lynch, who the Vikings also drafted, as a hidden gem on day three. Despite being late-round picks, both Lynch and Willekes have a chance to compete for roles high on the depth chart.

Some have predicted that Lynch will be the starter at the three-technique defensive tackle position for the Vikings. While not many have speculated about Willekes taking the starting defensive end position that is opposite to Danielle Hunter, Willekes can still earn a big role after reserve defensive end Stephen Weatherly’s departure in free agency.

Michigan State Football honors Spring 2020 Graduating seniors

MSU has nineteen seniors graduating this year and the team honored those players on social media Monday.

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The classes are over, the exams and papers have been turned in, and nineteen Michigan State Football players will be receiving their degrees and graduating from MSU. The MSU Football social media team honored their spring (and fall) graduates on Monday on social media.

It is a real who’s who of names on the list of graduates this year, with many of these players delivering great memories to Spartan fans over the years.

The 2020 MSU Football graduating class includes:

  • David Dowell
  • Tyriq Thompson
  • Brian Lewerke
  • Brandon Sowards
  • Josh Butler
  • Davis Lewandowski
  • Jake Hartbarger
  • Joe Bachie
  • Dante Razzano
  • Ryan Armour
  • Peter Fisk
  • Tyler Higby
  • Raequan Williams
  • Kenny Willekes
  • Matt Seybert
  • Mike Panasiuk
  • Cole Chewins
  • Noah Sargent
  • Tommy Liesveld

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Check out every new MSU Football player in the NFL photoshopped into their new uniform

The MSU Football social media team did an awesome job photoshopping each new Spartan in the NFL into their team uniform.

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Out of the fourteen Michigan State Football players eligible for the 2020 NFL Draft, two were drafted and seven players have been signed as undrafted free agents. To celebrate the nine players who have found new homes at the next level, the MSU Football social media team took the time to photoshop each player in their new uniform, which ended up being an awesome thread.

Check out every picture below:

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Locked On Spartans Podcast: Aaron Henry declares for the NBA Draft, Hampton Fay, NFL Draft

It’s a jam-packed episode of Locked On Spartans

Wil and Matt discuss Aaron Henry declaring for the NBA Draft, MSU’s new QB recruit Hampton Fay and the NFL Draft.

You can find the episode on iTunes, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

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