The hype train for Malik Willis has left the station and is chugging along full steam ahead. If you haven’t jumped on board yet, you better hurry before it’s moving too fast. It started in the hours following the conclusion of the 2021 NFL Draft when Pro Football Network slated the Liberty quarterback to go No. 1 overall in one of the first 2022 mock drafts. The hype went to another level when The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman wrote about Malik possibly being the next breakout quarterback for the 2022 NFL Draft.
Feldman was kind enough to join us for an interview for the ASOR Podcast to discuss his story and the buzz surrounding Malik entering the 2021 season. As we’ve discussed previously this week, Willis is now being projected by a number of websites to be a first round draft pick next season. Feldman thinks his talent can carry over to the next level.
“When (Liberty QB Coach) Kent Austin talks about how coachable he is, when (Hugh) Freeze talks about how humble he is, and some of those other attributes, I think those things translate well,” Feldman told ASOR in an exclusive interview. “What it might mean is there is probably a little more of a learning curve for him when he goes to the NFL. Maybe he is the guy that you’re not expecting to play right away. Now look, if his physical tool-set is so eye-popping where he may be a top five pick, usually top five picks, they’ve got to play right away.”
Many ask about a comparison player for Willis that’s currently in the NFL. Feldman compared him to BYU’s Zach Wilson who was selected No. 2 overall in the this year’s draft by the New York Jets but said Willis has more of a “linebacker body type” than Wilson and is a strong runner who can handle the bumps and bruises. Lamar Jackson is another similar running quarterback who might have better long speed. Former Clemson quarterback Woody Dantzler is another that Feldman brought up for Malik’s running style. After his college career, Dantzler played briefly in the NFL as a running back and defensive back.
“All the quarterbacks, we like to compare them, but they are all kind of different,” said Feldman. “I think you have a running back kind of skill-set with a huge arm, so we will see where that takes him.”
Willis originally committed to Virginia Tech when he was in high school as he was being recruited by Hokies’ head coach Justin Fuente as a defensive back. He switched his commitment when Auburn offered him as a quarterback, a position he always wanted to play. Willis spent his first two seasons as Jarrett Stidham’s backup and was then beat out by Bo Nix for the starting job in the spring of 2019 when he entered the transfer portal.
“People at Auburn, not all but some, people did not think that Malik Willis could throw the ball,” Feldman told ASOR. “Didn’t think he was a good passing quarterback.”
Fast-forward a couple years later and now Willis is getting heralded as having one of the best arms of next year’s quarterback class. He’s had two seasons, 2019 when he redshirted and his first year as a starting quarterback in 2020, under Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze and quarterbacks coach Kent Austin. Under their tutelage, Willis has taken his game to the next level.
Freeze has had a lot of success in the college game with offensive play-makers and has had several position players drafted, particularly at wide receiver where he has recruited and developed the likes of AJ Brown and DK Metcalf. Quarterbacks Ryan Aplin and Bo Wallace have also had incredible success in Freeze’s system. Willis hopes that system and previous success can help him become Liberty’s first football player to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft since Eric Green was taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1990 draft.
“I don’t see any reason why it can’t happen,” said Feldman. “If Hugh Freeze has produced receivers who have gone into the NFL and had a lot of success, he certainly can have quarterbacks who do it. It just comes down to the quarterback and comes down to the circumstance of what they go into.”
The 2021 season will be Malik’s fifth at the college level and would have been his final year of eligibility until the NCAA ruled that the 2020 season would not count against a player’s eligibility. So, Willis could technically return for the 2022 season, as well.
“I am definitely selfish for LU, he needs to stay two years,” Freeze said as he laughed. “You know I’m going to support him, but I do hope and pray that he and his family, that we can really sit down and really talk facts and not speculation and not what could be. I’ve got a lot of connections, I’m thankful for that, I’ve got a ton of connections in the general manager world, in the agent world, that I think can give me accurate information when that time comes. For me, it’s way too early for us to be speculating. Hopefully Malik is mentally strong enough, I think he is, to where that doesn’t distract him, but he has to have another great year and then we need to sit down and have an honest conversation.”
If Willis has the season that many expect him to have and the Flames’ build on their success from 2020, he will continue to be in the discussion as a first round draft pick. And if he’s projected as a first round pick, Willis will more than likely forego his 2022 super senior season.
“If he were to be (at Liberty) in the 2022 season, I”m guessing he wouldn’t be seen as the top 15 pick,” Feldman said. “I just don’t think you’re going to stay as a quarterback and get another year if you know you can be a first round pick. I think best case scenario is he has a huge year and he goes top 10 pick.”
Freeze says he fully supports Willis leaving after the 2021 season if he is in fact going to be a first round pick. You simply cannot pass that opportunity up.
“Truthfully, if every indication is that he would be a first round pick, you can’t ask a kid to bypass that and then him come back and that not work out again,” said Freeze. “Until we gather those facts, I think everything is really, really premature. I’m hopeful for our program that we will have him as a first round draft pick. That would mean we have done well and he’s done well. When that time comes though, let’s sit down and have that conversation.”
These next few months will be something that Liberty football has never seen before. There will be more eyes on the Flames. There will be more media watching and attending games. There will be more articles written by national media. The 2021 season can be the launching point for the Liberty football program going to the next level.
“It definitely can have a lasting impact especially if it is a big year because I think there will be a lot more eyeballs on Liberty,” said Feldman. “I would not be surprised if there are going to be other NFL related media who are going to do a version of that story that we did at The Athletic because the skill-set and the buzz is obviously building about him.”
In his first year as a starter on the college level, Willis led the country in rushing yards by a quarterback with 944 to go along with 14 rushing touchdowns. He also proved he is a capable passer by completing 64.2% of his 265 passes for 2,260 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions.
Willis could make a push to be included as one of the front-runners for the Heisman Trophy as the season progresses. He could also help lead Liberty to another top 25 season. Regardless, expect to see Liberty pushing Willis every opportunity it has. Feldman agrees.
“If I am Freeze or if I am Liberty, I am marketing the heck out of this guy and what he has become.”
