Michigan State Football: Khari Willis in midst of breakout season with Colts

Former Michigan State football star Khari Willis is becoming just that with the Indianapolis Colts, piecing together a breakout 2020 season.

Anyone who watched Khari Willis at Michigan State knew he was going to be a star. He started his career quietly but quickly became a focal point of the defensive backfield.

Michigan State was sorry to see him go after the 2018 season, but knew he was destined for big things.

And boy, Spartan fans were not wrong there.

Willis is in the middle of his second season with the Colts as a starting safety and he’s putting together a breakout campaign. He was great as a rookie, recording 71 tackles and a pass deflection in 14 games, but he’s not exactly having a sophomore slump.

In fact, he’s coming off a career game against the Bengals on Sunday in which he recorded a team-high 10 tackles and even more impressively: he has zero missed tackles this season.

It’s not often you see a kid grow as a three-star recruit into a star at the collegiate level so seamlessly only to adjust quickly to the NFL ranks years later. Willis is a special talent and he’s already looking like the future of that Colts defense.

On the season, he has 30 total tackles, a sack, an interception and two pass deflections. He’s on pace to crush last season’s numbers and he’s only six games in.

Add Willis to the growing list of Spartans in the NFL who came to Michigan State as lightly-recruited three-stars and have turned into key pieces to their respective teams’ puzzles.

If you’re looking for an NFL team to follow while the hometown Lions are on the struggle bus, just tune in to the Colts and watch Willis flourish.