An NFL Player Saved A Family From A Burning Car
An undrafted rookie free agent, Willard was driving down Interstate 40 when he noticed plumes of black smoke. He sped up to the car, honked his horn and flashed his lights in an effort to draw the driver's attention to the fire. When he did the woman pulled over.
"When she pulled over, the car was really on fire at that point," Willard said. "The driver, she acted like she was in some kind of daze or something. She told me that she didn't stop because she didn't think it was her car that was on fire. Another guy stopped, and we managed to get the kids and the dog out and get them to safety, and then I finally got the woman out."
Willard said several vehicles passed the flaming car before he flagged the woman down. "She just kept thanking me," Willard said. "That car was just gone. It went up quick." The heroic story comes near the end of a brutal NFL offseason full of arrests, headlined by Aaron Hernandez's murder charge. Willard stands an outside chance at making the Titans' opening day roster. As a senior last season at Clemson he totaled 95 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, four quarterback pressures, six pass breakups and one recovered fumble. Here's another picture Willard took of the car after his heroics: