Willie C. Offord is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 defensive back

Defensive back

In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...

 in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 (NFL). Willie Offord retired in 2007 due to injury.

Playing career

Offord played collegiately

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at the University of South Carolina

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

 finishing his career with the Gamecocks

South Carolina Gamecocks

The University of South Carolina's 19 varsity sports teams are known as the "Gamecocks". The unique moniker is held in honor of Thomas Sumter, a South Carolina war hero who was given the name "The Carolina Gamecock" during the American Revolution for his fierce fighting tactics, regardless of his...

 with 185 total tackles

Tackle (football move)

Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....

, 110 of them being solo tackles.

He was drafted in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft

2002 NFL Draft

The 2002 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft took place April 20–21, 2002 at the theater at...

 with the 70th pick overall by the Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

. He recorded 27 total tackles and one interception

Interception (football)

An interception, intercept or pick is a move in many forms of football, including Canadian and American football, as well as rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football and Gaelic football, which involves a pass, either by foot or hand, being caught by an opposition player, who usually...

 in his rookie

Rookie

Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...

 year, his best year statistically. He has played mostly special teams during his 5-year tenure with the Vikings, serving as the special teams Captain in 2003-2006. Offord was placed on injured reserve

Injured reserve

The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...

 just three games into the 2005 season

2005 Minnesota Vikings season

2005 was the 45th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 86th regular season of the National Football League.-Offseason:Red McCombs sold the Minnesota Vikings to a group led by Zygi Wilf in May 2005. Wilf was originally going to be a limited partner to Reggie Fowler. However Fowler...

 with a devastating knee injury. He was released by the Vikings in 2006 due to a severely broken wrist.

Coaching career

He served as the Assistant Athletic Director

Athletic director

An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...

, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Linebackers Coach and Special Teams Coordinator for football at Orangeburg Preparatory Schools

Orangeburg Preparatory Schools, Inc.

Orangeburg Preparatory Schools, Inc. is an independent, college-preparatory, coeducational day school enrolling students in preschool through twelfth grade. Orangeburg Preparatory Schools, Inc. admits students of any race, color, religion, national and ethnic origin to all rights, privileges,...

 in Orangeburg, South Carolina

Orangeburg, South Carolina

Orangeburg, also known as "The Garden City," is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city is also the fifth oldest city in the state of South Carolina. The city population was 12,765 at the 2000 census, within a Greater Orangeburg...

. He spent the 2009 football season as the Head Football Coach at Paxon School for Advanced Studies

Paxon School for Advanced Studies

Paxon School for Advanced Studies is one of three International Baccalaureate senior high schools in Duval County, Florida...

 in Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...

. On December 18, 2009, Offord was named the Head Football Coach at Interlachen High School

Interlachen High School

Interlachen High School is a public high school located in Interlachen, Florida, operated by the Putnam County School Board. The current principal as of 2011 school year is Thomas Bolling, and the assistant principals are Andrew Burnett, and Charles Jenkins....

 in Interlachen, Florida

Interlachen, Florida

Interlachen is a town in Putnam County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,475 at the 2000 census. The town is part of the Palatka Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Interlachen is located at ....

.