Griffen Willis Anchors Navy’s Run Defense as D-Line Captain

ANNAPOLIS — Navy’s defensive line lost its biggest name when nose guard Landon Robinson left for the NFL. The Midshipmen have not lost their grip on the run game, and senior defensive tackle Griffen Willis is a big reason why.

Through the season’s first six games, Navy opponents had averaged 2.7 yards on 217 combined rushing attempts, according to a profile of Willis by Gary Lambrecht distributed by Navy Athletics. Willis, a 6-foot-1, 280-pound position captain, is the most experienced player on a young front.

“He is a primary reason we have been able to stop the run so well,” Navy head coach Brian Newberry said. “He is an anchor in there, no doubt about that.”

The captain who quizzes

With Robinson and several other starters gone, Willis started calling out teammates during summer workouts with questions about their assignments, a habit he has kept. He sees himself as a bridge between defensive line coach Jerrick Hall and the players.

“When I call someone out, it’s just a different way of teaching,” Willis said. “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?”

Teammates describe a leader who texts the position group chat, offers extra film sessions and sets the tone in the weight room. Junior linebacker Coleman Cauley said Willis knows the playbook, does pre-practice work and is almost always in the right spot. Senior backup tackle Matthew Reyes said Willis has helped the younger linemen come along.

Willis said Robinson’s departure forced him to grow up. “Once spring ball came around, I started thinking that it was my time now,” he said.

A two-man wall

Willis arrived in Annapolis in the summer of 2023 as an 18-year-old nose guard, admitted straight from Lake Travis High School near Austin, Texas, without a year at the Naval Academy Prep School. He did not play as a freshman. In 2024 the staff moved him to defensive tackle beside Robinson, and the pairing helped Navy go 21-5 over two seasons.

His breakout came late in his sophomore year. He made nine tackles against Tulane in his second career start, still his career high. In Navy’s 31-13 win over Army in 2024, he and Robinson combined for 21 tackles, eight by Willis. Two weeks later he had two sacks in a 21-20 bowl win over Oklahoma that capped a 10-3 season.

The 2025 season was better still. Navy went 11-2, tying the program record for wins.

Robinson, an AP first-team All-American, is now a rookie with the Cincinnati Bengals. Willis said the numbers only tell part of the story for interior linemen, whose job is often to occupy blockers so others can make the play.

“Selflessness is key,” he said. “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.”

Navy’s only Division I offer

Willis was an All-District 26 selection twice at Lake Travis, a Texas Class 6A power, and was named his district’s defensive line MVP as a junior. Then he partially tore the UCL in his elbow on the first day of spring practice, the period when college coaches do much of their scouting. He missed the spring, and offers came only from a few Division II and III programs.

He visited Navy in the summer of 2022 and told his parents it was where he wanted to be, though no offer had come. It arrived late in his senior season, just before Lake Travis opened the playoffs. His trainer, former Texas high jump champion and two-time Canadian Olympian Mark Boswell, called him relentless.

His parents, Susan and Dana Willis, moved from Austin to Maryland’s Kent County in 2023 to be near him. They sponsor several players and host teammates for meals; Susan Willis keeps a running tally of what visiting players have broken, including two bed frames. Willis majors in quantitative economics and hopes to fly Navy helicopters on rescue missions.

Up next: Navy (2-4, 1-3 conference) hosts North Texas at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. The game airs on CBS Sports Network.