Malik Willis


Contributors to Wikimedia projects

Article Images

Malik Antonio Willis ( mə-LEEK; born May 25, 1999) is an American professional football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers and the Liberty Flames, where he won the 2020 Dudley Award. Willis was drafted by the Titans in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Malik Willis
refer to caption

Willis in 2022

No. 2 – Green Bay Packers
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born:May 25, 1999 (age 25)
College Park, Georgia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:225 lb (102 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 2, 2024
Passing attempts:81
Passing completions:47
Completion percentage:58.0%
TD–INT:1–3
Passing yards:472
Passer rating:63.4
Player stats at PFR

Early life

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 at Auburn 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 the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, 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] Willis left Liberty with his stock being a projected first or second rounder and a potential top 5 selection in the 2022 NFL draft .

College statistics

Season Games Passing Rushing
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD
Auburn Tigers
2017 7 0 0–0 6 7 85.7 45 1 0 186.9 16 221 13.8 1
2018 5 0 0–0 5 7 71.4 24 0 0 100.2 12 88 7.3 1
Liberty Flames
2019 did not play due to NCAA transfer rules
2020 10 10 9–1 170 265 64.2 2,250 20 6 155.8 141 944 6.7 14
2021 13 13 8–5 207 339 61.1 2,857 27 12 151.1 197 878 4.5 13
Career 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[11]
Sources:[12][13]

Tennessee Titans

Willis was drafted in the third round (86th overall) of the 2022 NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans.[14] He was considered a surprise fall in the draft as on draft night he was projected to be selected somewhere in the first round or second round with the Detroit Lions , Seattle Seahawks , Atlanta Falcons , Pittsburgh Steelers , Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans that were teams interested in Willis , Willis was seen in mocks draft as high as second overall during the early part off the pre-draft process in February , and the highest quarterback selected in the draft with scouts believing Willis was the best quarterback in the draft and had the highest potential .[15][16] He signed his four-year rookie contract on July 23, 2022.[17]

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.[18] Willis was named as a starter in Week 8 against the Houston Texans, relieving Tannehill due to illness.[19] In his first start, Willis completed 6 of 10 pass attempts for 55 yards and one interception in a 17–10 victory.[20] Willis started in place of an injured Tannehill for a second consecutive week in Week 9 against the Kansas City Chiefs.[21] He completed 5 of his 16 passing attempts for 80 yards in the 20–17 overtime loss.[22] In Week 16 against the Texans, Willis started in place of Tannehill, who had aggravated an ankle injury. In the contest, he completed 14 of 23 passes for 99 passing yards and two interceptions as the Titans lost, 19–14.[23]

Green Bay Packers

On August 26, 2024, Willis was traded to the Green Bay Packers for a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft.[24]

After an injury to starter Jordan Love, Willis was forced into a starting role just 19 days after joining the Packers. In his first start, on Sept. 15, 2024, in the home opener at Lambeau Field, Willis completed 12 of 15 passes for 122 yards, including his first career touchdown pass in addition to 41 rushing yards on 6 attempts, to record his second NFL win. He was awarded the game ball by coach Matt LaFleur.[25]

NFL career statistics

Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacked Fumbles
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A Lng TD Int Rtg Att Yds Y/A Lng TD Sck Yds Fum Lost
2022 TEN 8 3 1–2 31 61 50.8 276 4.5 48 0 3 42.8 27 123 4.6 17 1 10 49 3 2
2023 TEN 3 0 — 4 5 80.0 74 14.8 48 0 0 118.8 5 21 4.2 11 0 4 30 1 1
2024 GB 2 1 1–0 12 15 80.0 122 8.1 39 1 0 122.8 6 41 6.8 19 0 1 4 0 0
Career 13 4 1–2 47 81 58.0 472 5.8 48 1 3 63.4 38 185 4.9 19 1 15 83 4 3

Personal life

Willis’ uncle is 10-year NFL linebacker James Anderson.[26]

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. ^ "Wonderlic Scores for Seven of This Year's Top NFL QB Prospects Are Out". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  12. ^ "Malik Willis Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  13. ^ "Malik Willis, Liberty, QB, 2022 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  14. ^ Wyatt, Jim (April 29, 2022). "Titans Trade Up to Draft Liberty QB Malik Willis in Third Round of the NFL Draft". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  15. ^ Baer, Jack (April 29, 2022). "NFL draft: Liberty QB Malik Willis lands with Titans in 3rd round". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  16. ^ 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". Sporting News. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  17. ^ Baca, Michael (July 23, 2022). "Titans, QB Malik Willis agree to terms on rookie contract". NFL.com. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ Davenport, Turron (October 29, 2022). "Ryan Tannehill's illness, Malik Willis start vs. Texans". ESPN. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  20. ^ Patra, Kevin (October 31, 2022). "Malik Willis on 10-attempt starting debut". NFL. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  21. ^ Boclair, David (November 6, 2022). "Willis to Play in Place of Tannehill Again". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  22. ^ "Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs - November 6th, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  23. ^ Schommer, Chris (December 25, 2022). "Malik Willis underwhelms in Week 16 loss to Texans". FantasyPros. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  24. ^ Wyatt, Jim (August 27, 2024). "Titans Trade QB Malik Willis to the Packers". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  25. ^ Green Bay Packers. "Packers celebrate after Week 2 victory vs. Colts". YouTube. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  26. ^ Sikes, Ryan (May 5, 2022). "Titans' Malik Willis has a chip on his shoulder, but it's always been there". Titans Wire. Retrieved May 28, 2023.