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Malik Willis

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Malik Willis
refer to caption
Willis in 2022
No. 7 – Tennessee Titans
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1999-05-25) May 25, 1999 (age 25)
College Park, Georgia
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:219 lb (99 kg)
Career information
High school:Roswell (Roswell, Georgia)
College:
NFL draft:2022 / round: 3 / pick: 86
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2022
TD–INT:0–1
Passing yards:141
Completion percentage:40.0
Passer rating:41.1
Rushing yards:64
Rushing touchdowns:0
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Malik Antonio Willis (/məˈliːk/ mə-LEEK; born May 25, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Auburn before transferring to Liberty, where he won the 2020 Dudley Award. Willis was drafted by the Titans in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Early years

Willis attended Westlake High School in Atlanta before transferring to Roswell High School in Roswell, Georgia, for his senior year.[1] As a senior, he passed for 2,562 yards and rushed for 1,033 yards with 37 total touchdowns. He committed to Auburn University to play college football.[2]

College career

Auburn

Willis spent 2017 and 2018 at Auburn and played in 15 games. During the two years, he completed 11 of 14 passes for 69 yards with a touchdown and rushed for 309 yards and two touchdowns.[3][4]

Liberty

Willis transferred to Liberty University in 2019 following a quarterback competition with Bo Nix and sat out the season due to transfer rules.[5] In 2020, he was named the team's starting quarterback.[6] Against Southern Mississippi, he threw for six touchdowns and rushed for another.

Willis was named the winner of the 2020 Dudley Award, given to the best college football player in the state of Virginia, and was the recipient of the 2021 Bobby Bowden Award, awarded to the best college football player who epitomizes being a Christian student-athlete.[7][8][9] He was named MVP of the 2020 Cure Bowl and the 2021 LendingTree Bowl.[10]

Statistics

Season Team Games Passing Rushing
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD
2017 Auburn 7 0 0–0 6 7 85.7 45 1 0 186.9 16 221 13.8 1
2018 Auburn 5 0 0–0 5 7 71.4 24 0 0 100.2 12 88 7.3 1
2019 Liberty 0 0 — Did not play due to NCAA transfer rules
2020 Liberty 10 10 9–1 170 265 64.2 2,250 20 6 155.8 141 944 6.7 14
2021 Liberty 13 13 8–5 207 339 61.1 2,857 27 12 151.1 197 878 4.5 13
Career[11] 35 23 17–6 388 618 62.8 5,176 48 18 152.9 366 2,131 5.8 29

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span Wonderlic
6 ft 0+1⁄2 in
(1.84 m) 		219 lb
(99 kg) 		31+3⁄4 in
(0.81 m) 		9+1⁄2 in
(0.24 m)		 32[12]
Sources:[13][14]

Willis was drafted in the third round (86th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans.[15] He was considered a surprise fall in the draft as he was projected by some to be selected as high as second overall.[16][17] He signed his four-year rookie contract on July 23, 2022.[18]

2022 season

See also: 2022 Tennessee Titans season

Willis made his NFL debut in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills in the third quarter after the Titans benched Ryan Tannehill. He completed one of his four passing attempts while throwing for six yards and rushed for 16 yards in the 41–7 loss.[19]

Willis was named as a starter in Week 8 against the Texans, relieving Ryan Tannehill due to illness.[20] In his first start, Willis completed 6 of 10 pass attempts for 55 yards and one interception in a 17-10 victory.[21]

Willis started in place of an injured Tannehill for a second consecutive week in Week 9 against the Chiefs.[22] He completed 5 of his 16 passing attempts for 80 yards in the 20-17 overtime loss.

NFL career statistics

Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacks Fumbles
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD Sck Yds Fum Lost
2022 TEN 5 2 1–1 12 30 40.0 143 4.8 0 1 41.4 18 64 3.6 0 6 38 1 1
Career 5 2 1–1 12 30 40.0 143 4.8 0 1 41.4 18 64 3.6 0 6 38 1 1

References

  1. ^ Green, Tom (March 26, 2017). "Auburn QB has 'a lot of similarities' to Nick Marshall". AL.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  2. ^ Champlin, Drew (December 31, 2016). "Auburn lands commitment from dual-threat QB Malik Willis". AL.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  3. ^ "Malik Willis 2017 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  4. ^ "Malik Willis 2018 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  5. ^ Low, Chris (July 9, 2019). "Ex-Auburn QB Willis transferring to Liberty". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  6. ^ Green, Tom (September 14, 2020). "Former Auburn QB Malik Willis named starter at Liberty". AL.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  7. ^ Phillips, Michael (April 24, 2021). "Liberty's Malik Willis wins Dudley award, a first for the school; R-MC's Presley Egbers wins Lanier award". Richmond.com. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  8. ^ Henry, Jim (March 24, 2022). "Liberty quarterback Malik Willis honored with the 2021 Bobby Bowden Trophy". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  9. ^ Couch, Jacob (November 15, 2021). "A Chat with Malik Willis: Liberty quarterback focuses on faith rather than fleeting fame". Liberty.edu. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  10. ^ DiLullo, Mikey (April 29, 2022). "What to know about Malik Willis, Tennessee Titans QB pick in 2022 NFL Draft". The Tennessean. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  11. ^ "Malik Willis College Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  12. ^ "Wonderlic Scores for Seven of This Year's Top NFL QB Prospects Are Out". si.com. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  13. ^ "Malik Willis Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  14. ^ "Malik Willis, Liberty, QB, 2022 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  15. ^ "2022 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  16. ^ Baer, Jack (April 29, 2022). "NFL draft: Liberty QB Malik Willis lands with Titans in 3rd round". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  17. ^ Camenker, Jacob (April 30, 2022). "Why did Malik Willis fall in 2022 NFL Draft? Concerns about Liberty offense led to QB's free fall to Titans". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  18. ^ Baca, Michael (July 23, 2022). "Titans, QB Malik Willis agree to terms on rookie contract". NFL.com. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  19. ^ Owens, Jason (September 19, 2022). "Rookie Titans QB Malik Willis sees his first NFL action in tough spot thanks to Bills blowout". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  20. ^ Davenport, Turron (October 29, 2022). "Ryan Tannehill's illness, Malik Willis start vs. Texans". ESPN. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  21. ^ Patra, Kevin (October 31, 2022). "Malik Willis on 10-attempt starting debut". NFL. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  22. ^ Boclair, David (November 6, 2022). "Willis to Play in Place of Tannehill Again". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
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