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It’s all about the journey and Malik Willis has had quite the trek through his college football career. The Roswell, Georgia native was a three-star recruit and originally committed to the Justin Fuente-led Virginia Tech Hokies. After uncertainty if he would play quarterback in Blacksburg, Willis de-committed and went to Auburn, where Willis served as the Tigers’ backup for two seasons. After Guz Malzahn named Bo Nix the starter over Willis during the spring of 2019, the quarterback decided it was time for a change of scenery. Willis transferred to Liberty that same offseason and would sit out the entire 2019 campaign due to NCAA transfer rules. While no one knew it at the time, this transfer would put both Willis and Liberty Football on the map.
Enter the 2020 season. Not making a start since high school, no one knew what to expect from Willis as he was named the starter ahead of Liberty’s opening game at Western Kentucky. Questions about his accuracy and ability to play the position loomed as Willis prepared to make his first start as a college quarterback. Willis toppled the Hilltoppers in his first game, as he recorded 301 all-purpose yards, three touchdowns, and a Liberty QB single-game record 168 rushing yards in the victory. This performance was only a foreshadowing of what was to come.
Willis finished the 2020 campaign with 2,260 passing yards along with 20 touchdowns and 944 rushing yards with another 14 touchdowns. This equated to a whopping 3,204 all-purpose yards and 34 total touchdowns in just 10 games of play. Willis led all of the nation’s quarterbacks in rushing and broke Liberty records such as touchdowns in a season (33) and rushing yards in a season by a quarterback (855). These impressive statistics earned him honors such as: Cure Bowl MVP, Phil Steele All-American (honorable mention), VaSID Offensive Player of the Year, and the Dudley Award winner, which is given to Virginia’s top collegiate football player.
Despite the numerous individual achievements, Willis played an instrumental part in leading the Flames to multiple historic victories. Willis and the Flames defeated two ACC schools (Syracuse and Virginia Tech) and tied the program record for wins (10).The Flames capped off the year with a Cure Bowl win over Coastal Carolina, marking their first win over a ranked opponent in school history. This season of firsts ended in Liberty’s highest top 25 ranking in school history at No. 17 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll. Willis’ individual success translated into Flames success as the quarterback played a leading role in Liberty’s historic 2020 season.
After a memorable 2020 season it’s onto 2021 and the hype around Willis is unreal. There have not only been mumblings of Malik Willis being in the Heisman race, but some mock drafts have even projected the Liberty QB to go #1 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. Willis has been given 15-to-1 odds to both win the Heisman and get drafted #1 overall.
The Malik Willis hype train really took off when college football expert Bruce Feldman wrote an article on Willis being a potential breakout 2022 NFL Draft prospect. The article mentioned how QB trainer Quincy Avery (who has worked with multiple pro quarterbacks) said Willis has the strongest arm of anyone he has ever seen. This, along with other praise from opposing coaches and respected individuals, led Feldman to believe that Willis could become a household name in 2021.
“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.”
Do we know if Willis will win the Heisman or be selected #1 overall? No, but here’s what we do know: Willis returns after a breakout season alongside a top 25 team that returns 10 out of 11 starters on both sides of the ball. Willis has a year as a starter under his belt and is expected to take another step forward this season. Liberty and Malik Willis not only have a lot of talent, but hype as well. That points a lot of eyes on the Flames and Willis in particular this season as Liberty continues its meteoric rise in college football. Liberty won’t be able to play surprise underdog this year as opponents will have them circled on their schedules.
Going from the possibility of not even playing quarterback in college to being talked about as the top prospect in the NFL Draft and a Heisman contender, this has been quite the journey for Malik Willis. Perhaps the best part about this journey is that it’s only getting started.
