All things Malik Willis (Merged)

[bigbird 60,498]

Just now, Timeslider 6 said:

You guys can't be for real, you saying true freshman Willis is moving ahead of RS Freshman Barrett? 

Didn't just move ahead, but left him standing there holding a clip board

[Timeslider 6 269]

7 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Didn't just move ahead, but left him standing there holding a clip board

I'll take you at your word, but how could so many be that wrong about Barrett? it doesn't make any sense.

[ScottsboroAuburnFan 462]

5 minutes ago, Timeslider 6 said:

I'll take you at your word, but how could so many be that wrong about Barrett? it doesn't make any sense.

I'd say more were wrong about Willis.

[bigbird 60,498]

51 minutes ago, Timeslider 6 said:

I'll take you at your word, but how could so many be that wrong about Barrett? it doesn't make any sense.

It matters who you were listening to. Many of us were saying it.

 

 

[alexava 6,973]

Some serious speculation happens in here. Lol 

[bikeriderga 134]

9 hours ago, CCslim said:

He had a good scrimmage and as of now is clearly our second best qb from reports

That was without White out there, don't forget. No way I see him being # 2 QB unless Stidham or White goes down with an injury..

Not a knock on Malik at all!!! From everything I have heard, he is going to be a STUD!

 

 

[Timeslider 6 269]

Great to hear about Willis, how much will his size limit him in the future? or will it?

[bikeriderga 134]

15 hours ago, ScottsboroAuburnFan said:

I'd say more were wrong about Willis.

No one expected him (Willis) to be as good as he is at QB. Probably the most underrated QB in the 2017 class. 

[aubiefifty 16,760]

Auburn freshman QB Malik Willis 'has a lot of similarities' to former star Nick Marshall

Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

Malik Willis is unlikely to win Auburn's starting quarterback competition this offseason, but the freshman signal-caller is already making a name for himself eight practices into his first spring.

During Auburn's first scrimmage Saturday inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, Willis and redshirt freshman quarterback Woody Barrett both went live against the defense, and the early enrollee from Georgia stole the show during the 100-plus play scrimmage.

"He's a stud, there's no doubt about it," starting center Austin Golson said. "He's going to be really good. He kind of reminds me a lot of Nick (Marshall). He can run and make plays whenever plays might not be there. I'm really excited about his future."

Willis accounted for two of the five touchdowns scored during the scrimmage -- which was closed to the media -- throwing one to quarterback-turned-receiver John Franklin III and another to redshirt sophomore receiver Darius Slayton, according to teammate Sean White. Willis took advantage of coach Gus Malzahn's plan to throw the ball 40 percent of the time Saturday, which was a sharp increase from the team's first scrimmage in years past, when Malzahn prefers an 80/20 split in favor of the run.

 

Two quarterbacks go live in 'balanced' Auburn scrimmage

Auburn held its first spring scrimmage inside Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday as the Tigers ran more than 100 plays and focused primarily on base schemes.

 

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound dual-threat quarterback showed that he is capable of making plays with his legs. With Willis and Barrett going live, the two freshmen had an opportunity to react to defenses not just while dropping back in the passing game, but while trying to extend plays and take off running downfield.

When it came to his decision-making under pressure, Willis did a good job in that aspect Saturday, Malzahn said, and he gave offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey some "good information" moving forward with his evaluation and development.

"It was good," Malzahn said. "They both have the running ability. Both of them, at times, use their legs. But it was good to see how they react in the pocket, especially dropping back and feeling pressure. There's not a quick whistle like there is when you're in an orange jersey."

After Saturday's performance, Golson wasn't the only one to draw up the Nick Marshall comparison for Willis, who rushed for 1,033 yards as a quarterback during his senior season at Roswell (Ga.) High. Marshall, of course, rushed for 1,866 yards and 23 touchdowns as Auburn's quarterback from 2013-14 while running Malzahn's offense with exceptional results.

 

Willis trying to 'soak in everything' this spring

Malik Willis, an early enrollee and former three-star prospect, has been splitting reps at quarterback with Jarrett Stidham and Woody Barrett early on during Auburn's spring practices.

 

The comparison between Willis and Marshall has apparently become commonplace within Auburn's locker room, according to White. The fact that Willis wears Marshall's old number, 14, certainly plays into in.

"He wears 14 out there so everybody is comparing him to Nick," White said. "He has a lot of similarities playing-wise to how Nick used to play."

And like Marshall, who started his college career at Georgia as a cornerback, Willis is still getting accustomed to playing quarterback. He spent most of his sophomore and junior seasons at Atlanta's Westlake High before making a full-time move to quarterback as a senior at Roswell. So, while he has impressed teammates in just eight practices this spring, Willis is likely still just scratching the surface of his potential at the position.

"I think Malik is going to be a really good player," White said. "He has a lot of potential to him. He's really athletic and has a good attitude. I really like him a lot. He's come to learn and he's a good player."

[WFE12 9,191]

Man it feels so good to have stability at the qb position. 

[AUIH1 1,515]

19 hours ago, bigbird said:

It matters who you were listening to. Many of us were saying it.

 

 

Some were saying the same thing about the hyping of Tyler Queen.

 

wde

[cole256 17,043]

4 hours ago, WFE12 said:

Man it feels so good to have stability at the qb position. 

We don't have it yet. We thought we did a couple of years ago as well. We don't have a qb that has played in a big time game and performed well on the roster

[AUIH1 1,515]

3 minutes ago, cole256 said:

We don't have it yet. We thought we did a couple of years ago as well. We don't have a qb that has played in a big time game and performed well on the roster

Agree for the most part. Although I think SW performed well against LSU and even Texas A&M given the limitations of his OC/QB coaching.

 

wde

[cole256 17,043]

I forgot about lsu, but that was when lsu was down as well though...Texas a&m? I don't really consider them a big game but I don't think we played well at all that game either

[HarrisBoy334 63]

On 2/10/2017 at 8:53 AM, WarDamnEagleWDE said:

If Woody is buried on the depth chart he might look to leave. All I'm saying. 

I agree. Alot of people didn't want Stidham because they put all faith in Woody without watching him play or practice in college. Now (for now at least) it looks like he won't be 3rd on the depth chart. Its not the first scrimmage, its the first full scrimmage in Jordan Hare. The coaches got more previous info on players than what was shared Saturday. So who knows, Woody may be challenging Stidham. But Im very happy AU got Stidham and Malik. 

[AUIH1 1,515]

1 hour ago, cole256 said:

I forgot about lsu, but that was when lsu was down as well though...Texas a&m? I don't really consider them a big game but I don't think we played well at all that game either

Texas A&M.  Just saying that SW was not the reason we lost to them.

 

wde

[cole256 17,043]

4 minutes ago, AUIH1 said:

Texas A&M.  Just saying that SW was not the reason we lost to them.

 

wde

Sw wasn't the reason we lost to anybody. My point is we don't have any qb's that has played in a big time game and performed well so I can't say we have stability at the position

[alexava 6,973]

I'm liking what I'm reading on Willis. I have no problem going with a freshman. I don't think we will but it's nice to get good news. I'll take another nick Marshall now and go with it. 

[DAG 33,977]

10 hours ago, WFE12 said:

Man it feels so good to have stability at the qb position. 

I feel ya

last off season we had a reach with the JF3 signing and a potential good QB in SW. Neither were that impressive in the spring and based on reports for fall camp, it wasn't much better.

this year we seem to have two solid QBs in JS and SW. In fact SW has proven he can be very efficient when healthy.   JS from all accounts has been good in camp and the scrimmage . Now you have Willis who seems to have catapulted over Woody and is safe to say  already passed the point of where JF3 currently would be at QB.

No reason not to be optimistic .

[WFE12 9,191]

38 minutes ago, DAG said:

I feel ya

last off season we had a reach with the JF3 signing and a potential good QB in SW. Neither were that impressive in the spring and based on reports for fall camp, it wasn't much better.

this year we seem to have two solid QBs in JS and SW. In fact SW has proven he can be very efficient when healthy.  You have JS from all accounts has been good in camp and the scrimmage . Now you have Willis who seems to have catapulted over Woody and is safe to say  already passed the point of where JF3 currently would be at QB.

No reason not to be optimistic .

This is where I was getting at...At least we have two QBs who have played meaningful games and performed solidly and a freshman who has impressed a lot. Last season was a crap fest.

[cole256 17,043]

55 minutes ago, DAG said:

I feel ya

last off season we had a reach with the JF3 signing and a potential good QB in SW. Neither were that impressive in the spring and based on reports for fall camp, it wasn't much better.

this year we seem to have two solid QBs in JS and SW. In fact SW has proven he can be very efficient when healthy.  You have JS from all accounts has been good in camp and the scrimmage . Now you have Willis who seems to have catapulted over Woody and is safe to say  already passed the point of where JF3 currently would be at QB.

No reason not to be optimistic .

Sw has proven to be effective against average teams, they said jj was going to be great before and if Willis had to play his first 3-4 games wouldn't be that good. At best probably like Bentley at South c. But I see what you're saying I'm just saying I'm on the need to see it side of the fence

[alexava 6,973]

27 minutes ago, cole256 said:

Sw has proven to be effective against average teams, they said jj was going to be great before and if Willis had to play his first 3-4 games wouldn't be that good. At best probably like Bentley at South c. But I see what you're saying I'm just saying I'm on the need to see it side of the fence

I think we all are on that fence side.

[DAG 33,977]

I agree we all should be CATIOUSLY optimistic. However , I am going to be the bad guy here . As much crap that I've given SW in the past , I will say he was are only decent QB last year . JF3 and JJ , auburn men and competitors , were baaaad QBs. Last year , during this same time , the insiders were not holding any punches . They pretty much warned us to brace ourselves. If we had just average play last year when SW went down , we beat UGA, we compete with OU and we do not struggle with Vandy. Now, imo, I've seen both SW and JS go against quality opponents . It's documented . Were they great ? No . However , I consider their performances good and I am fine with that . I am not expecting Willis to have any impact this year and hope he does get RS, but if both SW / JS do go down , based on what I am hearing , at the very least he could pull a Lamar Jackson 2nd half heroics against AU'15 . This is much more than any of the two other QBs could do last year .

[WFE12 9,191]

7 minutes ago, DAG said:

I agree we all should be CATIOUSLY optimistic. However , I am going to be the bad guy here . As much crap that I've given SW in the past , I will say he was are only decent QB last year . JF3 and JJ , auburn men and competitors , were baaaad QBs. Last year , during this same time , the insiders were not holding any punches . They pretty much warned us to brace ourselves. If we had just average play last year when SW went down , we beat UGA, we compete with OU and we do not struggle with OU. Now, imo, I've seen both SW and JS go against quality opponents . It's documented . Were they great ? No . However , I consider their performances good and I am fine with that . I am not expecting Willis to have any impact this year and hope he does get RS, but if both SW / JS do go down , based on what I am hearing , at the very least he could pull a Lamar Jackson 2nd half heroics against AU'15 . This is much more than any of the two other QBs could do last year .

Yeah man... A healthy Jarrett with bubba and others SHOULD spell fright for all opposing teams.

[passthebiscuits 6,844]

In early scrimmages, qbs that make plays when things start to break down make the biggest impression. The truth is nobody really knows how good any of the qbs are until the orange jerseys come off. Coaches value knowns...like what a player will do when the lights come on and things are on the line. My take is that Stidham is still the qb to beat but SW will still have a lot to say about it. I predict SW will still be the #2, with Willis and Barrett getting lots of playing time in ADay and then spot work the rest of the season.