Stafford Willis

Physical Profile

At 6-5 with a frame that has carried 260 to 290 pounds across the last two listings, Willis has the length of a tackle and the mass of an interior player, which is why the college projection is guard. He added roughly 30 pounds between his MaxPreps listing and his June 2026 camp weight without losing the movement that earned him a scholarship at a summer camp evaluation. He is a two-sport athlete who starts at center for Arab's basketball team, and that shows in his balance, hip flexibility and ability to redirect in space. The 86 rating on 247Sports and 76 ESPN grade reflect a functional athlete rather than an elite one; he wins with strength and technique more than twitch. The frame can comfortably hold 305-315 at the SEC level.

Play Style

Willis is a physical, assignment-sound blocker who plays with more polish than most three-star linemen. On film he fires off the ball, strikes with strength, sustains combo blocks with his guard or center, then peels to the second level and finds a linebacker instead of stopping. He does not play recklessly; evaluators describe him as technically sound rather than a mauler, and his basketball background shows up in his ability to mirror and stay square. In pass sets he uses his length well against edge rushers, but the tape shows a tackle's vertical set, not yet the compact, short-set anchoring an interior player needs.

Strengths

• Run-blocking power: multiple evaluators single out his strength at the point of attack, and the Alabama staff cited powerful run blocking as the first trait when explaining the guard projection.
• Combo-block execution and second-level work: film reviews note he properly executes a variety of blocking assignments, works combos cleanly and keeps looking for work climbing to linebackers, which is exactly the skill set that translates to a zone-and-gap SEC run game inside.
• Positional versatility and coachability: he logged snaps at both left and right tackle as a junior and is listed as a center on MaxPreps, so he has already trained both sides and interior alignments; he describes himself as a gym rat and named technique work in pass protection as his own senior-year focus.
• Basketball-derived agility: starting at center on the hardwood gives him footwork, hand placement and body control that most 290-pound high school linemen do not have, and observers note agility flashes on tape.

Areas to Improve

• Pass protection technique: Willis himself identified pass blocking as the area he wants to improve before enrolling. At tackle in high school he could rely on length; at guard he will face quicker interior rushers and needs a firmer anchor, better independent hands and more consistent set depth.
• Level of competition and scheme translation: Arab is a Class 5A program, and Willis noted the offense he plays in differs from the more explosive spread systems he was recruited by. He has not faced SEC-caliber defensive tackles weekly, so his first year should be treated as a calibration period.
• Weight distribution and finishing at the new position: moving from 280 to a playing weight above 300 without losing the agility that makes him effective will be the first task for Alabama's strength staff, and he must learn to finish blocks in confined space rather than in the open lanes a tackle gets.

College Projection

Alabama's staff has said it sees him as a guard who can compete for playing time as a true or redshirt freshman. A realistic timeline is a redshirt or limited-snap season in 2027 to reach 305-plus pounds and learn interior pass protection, then a rotational role in 2028 and a starting spot at guard by 2029. His floor is a multi-year contributor with center flexibility because of his listed HS experience there; his ceiling is a three-year SEC starter at guard. Adrian Klemm was his primary recruiter and the relationship was central to the commitment, so a coaching change on the OL staff would be a retention risk to monitor.

Best Fit

A pro-style or multiple run scheme that asks its guards to combo, climb and displace, which is exactly Alabama's profile under its current staff. He fits best at guard in a system with a strong run identity and a coach willing to invest a developmental year in his pass-set technique. Programs that recruited him as a tackle (Oklahoma State, Rivals lists him among OTs) were betting on length; the higher-percentage outcome is inside, where his power, combo work and basketball footwork play immediately.