Michigan State Football: Kenny Willekes seizing opportunity with Vikings

After a solid, but not great, season to end his Michigan State football career, Kenny Willekes dropped to the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft. The Vikings scooped him up late and there was a hope that he would make an impression with Minnesota.

Unfortunately, he suffered a season-ending injury in his rookie year and never got a chance to prove himself and he was waived by the Vikings this preseason before signing with the practice squad.

For the entire first half of the season, he’s been working on the practice squad and impressing coaches, but the active roster didn’t have a spot for him. That all changed when Danielle Hunter went down with an injury, being ruled out for the remainder of the year.

Willekes has been waiting for his opportunity with the Vikings, and last Sunday, he got it against the Ravens.

The former Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year was a monster up front with the Vikings, recording seven tackles, four pressures on Lamar Jackson, and 0.5 sacks. He was in the backfield constantly and really made an impression.

This is the type of game that’s going to keep Willekes in the regular rotation and you know the coaching staff is going to have a tough time keeping him off the field.

Michigan State football fans aren’t surprised by the sudden breakout

Anyone who has watched Willekes at Michigan State knows what he’s capable of. The former All-Big Ten defensive end finished his career with 228 tackles, 49 tackles for loss, and 23.5 sacks, and that’s after having to prove himself as a walk-on.

Willekes still isn’t technically on the full-time roster as he’s on there as a “COVID replacement” but with his performance against the Ravens, it’s going to be tough to send him back to the practice squad.

We are seeing a ton of recent MSU football players succeed in the NFL including Willekes, Naquan Jones, Joe Bachie, Andrew Dowell, and Brian Lewerke (Giants added him to practice squad).

This is going to only help Mel Tucker’s recruiting efforts.