Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoWillie Pless wasn’t going to play football on Saturday.
Still, something inside him made him feel like it was Game Day despite the fact he hadn’t worn a Kansas jersey or been to Memorial Stadium in 16 years.
The Canadian Football League’s all-time leading tackler, who retired from football after the 1999 season, greeted well-wishers and admirers two hours before kickoff at a reception in his honor near the scoreboard.
At that time, defensive schemes swirled in his head and butterflies fluttered in his stomach just as they did before games when he was a three-time All-Big Eight linebacker for the Jayhawks from 1982-85.
“It’s funny,” Pless said. “I haven’t been back here at the stadium for a long time. But it felt normal. I was visualizing plays in my head and I thought, ‘What am I doing? I don’t have a game to play.”’
Pless did make it onto the field when KU’s athletics department inducted him into the Kansas University Athletic Hall of Fame.
After receiving his honor at midfield during halftime with wife, Rhonda, and daughter, Shamelle, standing next to him and two other daughters, Mariette and Sierra, watching from a scholarship suite, he walked toward the sideline with a grin spreading across his face.
“It was awesome,” Pless said. “You’re talking about being mentioned with Gale Sayers, John Hadl and others. That is really something.
“I got to thinking about this after (the athletics department) called me and realized I was the 12th person in 110 years to get this honor. I got that in my mind and thought that that was huge.”
Pless is one of the best defensive players to ever play for the Jayhawks. He has more career-tackles, 633, than any other Kansas player. That’s 230 more than the next highest total. He’s also the Big Eight’s all-time leading tackler.
Pless has the top-three single-season total tackles with 206 in 1984, 191 in 1985 and 188 in 1983.
He also had 22-tackle performances against Kansas State in 1984 and Missouri in 1983.
After his senior season, the “Willie Pless Tackler of the Year Award” was created to honor Kansas’ leader in tackling and assists each season.
But none of those distinctions and honors compare to the feeling he experienced when athletics department officials contacted him less than two weeks ago.
“At first they told me that they were going to have Willie Pless Day,” Pless said. “Then they called me back a few days later and told me that I was going to be inducted into the hall of fame.”
That is something not many individuals predicted for the 5-foot-10 Pless.
After seeing Pless, who is from Alabama, shut down Bo Jackson in a high school all-star game, Bear Bryant, Bama’s coach, tried to recruit Pless.
“That game against Bo was one of the best games of my life,” he said. “I hit him hard so many times. Bear said after the game that that young man can play for us.”
Pless never heard a crowd in Tuscaloosa chant “Roll Tide,” though. He already had given Kansas a verbal commitment.
“I told Kansas that I was going to go there and I honored that,” he said.
In addition to compiling all kinds of tackling records, he was a second-team Associated Press All-American and an academic All-American his senior season.
Not bad for a guy everyone thought was too short. But the National Football League didn’t take notice and Pless went to the CFL.
“When I came out of college the prototype linebacker was 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds,” he said. “Here I was 5-foot-10 on my tip toes and 205 pounds.”
Pless said he wasn’t sure if he would be able to make a difference in the CFL, but after he looked into the difference between the NFL and CFL (among other things, the CFL has a bigger field and uses 12 players instead of 11), he knew he could play in Canada.
In 14 seasons he was the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player five times and an all-star in all but three seasons.
Kansas came calling for Pless after he retired from the CFL in 1999. Coach Terry Allen offered him a coaching position, but Pless declined.
“At the time I didn’t that I was ready,” Pless said. “I still had football in my blood, but I didn’t think it was right for me then.”
He might be ready soon, though. A smile grew across Pless’ face as he said he was keeping his options open about coaching.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoWillie Pless wasn’t going to play football on Saturday.
Still, something inside him made him feel like it was Game Day despite the fact he hadn’t worn a Kansas jersey or been to Memorial Stadium in 16 years.
The Canadian Football League’s all-time leading tackler, who retired from football after the 1999 season, greeted well-wishers and admirers two hours before kickoff at a reception in his honor near the scoreboard.
At that time, defensive schemes swirled in his head and butterflies fluttered in his stomach just as they did before games when he was a three-time All-Big Eight linebacker for the Jayhawks from 1982-85.
“It’s funny,” Pless said. “I haven’t been back here at the stadium for a long time. But it felt normal. I was visualizing plays in my head and I thought, ‘What am I doing? I don’t have a game to play.”’
Pless did make it onto the field when KU’s athletics department inducted him into the Kansas University Athletic Hall of Fame.
After receiving his honor at midfield during halftime with wife, Rhonda, and daughter, Shamelle, standing next to him and two other daughters, Mariette and Sierra, watching from a scholarship suite, he walked toward the sideline with a grin spreading across his face.
“It was awesome,” Pless said. “You’re talking about being mentioned with Gale Sayers, John Hadl and others. That is really something.
“I got to thinking about this after (the athletics department) called me and realized I was the 12th person in 110 years to get this honor. I got that in my mind and thought that that was huge.”
Pless is one of the best defensive players to ever play for the Jayhawks. He has more career-tackles, 633, than any other Kansas player. That’s 230 more than the next highest total. He’s also the Big Eight’s all-time leading tackler.
Pless has the top-three single-season total tackles with 206 in 1984, 191 in 1985 and 188 in 1983.
He also had 22-tackle performances against Kansas State in 1984 and Missouri in 1983.
After his senior season, the “Willie Pless Tackler of the Year Award” was created to honor Kansas’ leader in tackling and assists each season.
But none of those distinctions and honors compare to the feeling he experienced when athletics department officials contacted him less than two weeks ago.
“At first they told me that they were going to have Willie Pless Day,” Pless said. “Then they called me back a few days later and told me that I was going to be inducted into the hall of fame.”
That is something not many individuals predicted for the 5-foot-10 Pless.
After seeing Pless, who is from Alabama, shut down Bo Jackson in a high school all-star game, Bear Bryant, Bama’s coach, tried to recruit Pless.
“That game against Bo was one of the best games of my life,” he said. “I hit him hard so many times. Bear said after the game that that young man can play for us.”
Pless never heard a crowd in Tuscaloosa chant “Roll Tide,” though. He already had given Kansas a verbal commitment.
“I told Kansas that I was going to go there and I honored that,” he said.
In addition to compiling all kinds of tackling records, he was a second-team Associated Press All-American and an academic All-American his senior season.
Not bad for a guy everyone thought was too short. But the National Football League didn’t take notice and Pless went to the CFL.
“When I came out of college the prototype linebacker was 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds,” he said. “Here I was 5-foot-10 on my tip toes and 205 pounds.”
Pless said he wasn’t sure if he would be able to make a difference in the CFL, but after he looked into the difference between the NFL and CFL (among other things, the CFL has a bigger field and uses 12 players instead of 11), he knew he could play in Canada.
In 14 seasons he was the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player five times and an all-star in all but three seasons.
Kansas came calling for Pless after he retired from the CFL in 1999. Coach Terry Allen offered him a coaching position, but Pless declined.
“At the time I didn’t that I was ready,” Pless said. “I still had football in my blood, but I didn’t think it was right for me then.”
He might be ready soon, though. A smile grew across Pless’ face as he said he was keeping his options open about coaching.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoWillie Pless wasn’t going to play football on Saturday.
Still, something inside him made him feel like it was Game Day despite the fact he hadn’t worn a Kansas jersey or been to Memorial Stadium in 16 years.
The Canadian Football League’s all-time leading tackler, who retired from football after the 1999 season, greeted well-wishers and admirers two hours before kickoff at a reception in his honor near the scoreboard.
At that time, defensive schemes swirled in his head and butterflies fluttered in his stomach just as they did before games when he was a three-time All-Big Eight linebacker for the Jayhawks from 1982-85.
“It’s funny,” Pless said. “I haven’t been back here at the stadium for a long time. But it felt normal. I was visualizing plays in my head and I thought, ‘What am I doing? I don’t have a game to play.”’
Pless did make it onto the field when KU’s athletics department inducted him into the Kansas University Athletic Hall of Fame.
After receiving his honor at midfield during halftime with wife, Rhonda, and daughter, Shamelle, standing next to him and two other daughters, Mariette and Sierra, watching from a scholarship suite, he walked toward the sideline with a grin spreading across his face.
“It was awesome,” Pless said. “You’re talking about being mentioned with Gale Sayers, John Hadl and others. That is really something.
“I got to thinking about this after (the athletics department) called me and realized I was the 12th person in 110 years to get this honor. I got that in my mind and thought that that was huge.”
Pless is one of the best defensive players to ever play for the Jayhawks. He has more career-tackles, 633, than any other Kansas player. That’s 230 more than the next highest total. He’s also the Big Eight’s all-time leading tackler.
Pless has the top-three single-season total tackles with 206 in 1984, 191 in 1985 and 188 in 1983.
He also had 22-tackle performances against Kansas State in 1984 and Missouri in 1983.
After his senior season, the “Willie Pless Tackler of the Year Award” was created to honor Kansas’ leader in tackling and assists each season.
But none of those distinctions and honors compare to the feeling he experienced when athletics department officials contacted him less than two weeks ago.
“At first they told me that they were going to have Willie Pless Day,” Pless said. “Then they called me back a few days later and told me that I was going to be inducted into the hall of fame.”
That is something not many individuals predicted for the 5-foot-10 Pless.
After seeing Pless, who is from Alabama, shut down Bo Jackson in a high school all-star game, Bear Bryant, Bama’s coach, tried to recruit Pless.
“That game against Bo was one of the best games of my life,” he said. “I hit him hard so many times. Bear said after the game that that young man can play for us.”
Pless never heard a crowd in Tuscaloosa chant “Roll Tide,” though. He already had given Kansas a verbal commitment.
“I told Kansas that I was going to go there and I honored that,” he said.
In addition to compiling all kinds of tackling records, he was a second-team Associated Press All-American and an academic All-American his senior season.
Not bad for a guy everyone thought was too short. But the National Football League didn’t take notice and Pless went to the CFL.
“When I came out of college the prototype linebacker was 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds,” he said. “Here I was 5-foot-10 on my tip toes and 205 pounds.”
Pless said he wasn’t sure if he would be able to make a difference in the CFL, but after he looked into the difference between the NFL and CFL (among other things, the CFL has a bigger field and uses 12 players instead of 11), he knew he could play in Canada.
In 14 seasons he was the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player five times and an all-star in all but three seasons.
Kansas came calling for Pless after he retired from the CFL in 1999. Coach Terry Allen offered him a coaching position, but Pless declined.
“At the time I didn’t that I was ready,” Pless said. “I still had football in my blood, but I didn’t think it was right for me then.”
He might be ready soon, though. A smile grew across Pless’ face as he said he was keeping his options open about coaching.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoWillie Pless wasn’t going to play football on Saturday.
Still, something inside him made him feel like it was Game Day despite the fact he hadn’t worn a Kansas jersey or been to Memorial Stadium in 16 years.
The Canadian Football League’s all-time leading tackler, who retired from football after the 1999 season, greeted well-wishers and admirers two hours before kickoff at a reception in his honor near the scoreboard.
At that time, defensive schemes swirled in his head and butterflies fluttered in his stomach just as they did before games when he was a three-time All-Big Eight linebacker for the Jayhawks from 1982-85.
“It’s funny,” Pless said. “I haven’t been back here at the stadium for a long time. But it felt normal. I was visualizing plays in my head and I thought, ‘What am I doing? I don’t have a game to play.”’
Pless did make it onto the field when KU’s athletics department inducted him into the Kansas University Athletic Hall of Fame.
After receiving his honor at midfield during halftime with wife, Rhonda, and daughter, Shamelle, standing next to him and two other daughters, Mariette and Sierra, watching from a scholarship suite, he walked toward the sideline with a grin spreading across his face.
“It was awesome,” Pless said. “You’re talking about being mentioned with Gale Sayers, John Hadl and others. That is really something.
“I got to thinking about this after (the athletics department) called me and realized I was the 12th person in 110 years to get this honor. I got that in my mind and thought that that was huge.”
Pless is one of the best defensive players to ever play for the Jayhawks. He has more career-tackles, 633, than any other Kansas player. That’s 230 more than the next highest total. He’s also the Big Eight’s all-time leading tackler.
Pless has the top-three single-season total tackles with 206 in 1984, 191 in 1985 and 188 in 1983.
He also had 22-tackle performances against Kansas State in 1984 and Missouri in 1983.
After his senior season, the “Willie Pless Tackler of the Year Award” was created to honor Kansas’ leader in tackling and assists each season.
But none of those distinctions and honors compare to the feeling he experienced when athletics department officials contacted him less than two weeks ago.
“At first they told me that they were going to have Willie Pless Day,” Pless said. “Then they called me back a few days later and told me that I was going to be inducted into the hall of fame.”
That is something not many individuals predicted for the 5-foot-10 Pless.
After seeing Pless, who is from Alabama, shut down Bo Jackson in a high school all-star game, Bear Bryant, Bama’s coach, tried to recruit Pless.
“That game against Bo was one of the best games of my life,” he said. “I hit him hard so many times. Bear said after the game that that young man can play for us.”
Pless never heard a crowd in Tuscaloosa chant “Roll Tide,” though. He already had given Kansas a verbal commitment.
“I told Kansas that I was going to go there and I honored that,” he said.
In addition to compiling all kinds of tackling records, he was a second-team Associated Press All-American and an academic All-American his senior season.
Not bad for a guy everyone thought was too short. But the National Football League didn’t take notice and Pless went to the CFL.
“When I came out of college the prototype linebacker was 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds,” he said. “Here I was 5-foot-10 on my tip toes and 205 pounds.”
Pless said he wasn’t sure if he would be able to make a difference in the CFL, but after he looked into the difference between the NFL and CFL (among other things, the CFL has a bigger field and uses 12 players instead of 11), he knew he could play in Canada.
In 14 seasons he was the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player five times and an all-star in all but three seasons.
Kansas came calling for Pless after he retired from the CFL in 1999. Coach Terry Allen offered him a coaching position, but Pless declined.
“At the time I didn’t that I was ready,” Pless said. “I still had football in my blood, but I didn’t think it was right for me then.”
He might be ready soon, though. A smile grew across Pless’ face as he said he was keeping his options open about coaching.
