All things Malik Willis (Merged)

[auburn4ever 1,266]

If Malik comes anywhere close to being like NM, then he'll blow people away everytime he touches the ball.

[CCslim 56]

On 3/27/2017 at 8:05 AM, passthebiscuits said:

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. 

Willis and Barrett went live in the scrimmage

[cole256 17,042]

On 3/27/2017 at 7:05 AM, passthebiscuits said:

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. 

I've always said great qb's are the guys that can make the throws without having a perfect fundamental form, because those situations are rare actually

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,648]

On 3/27/2017 at 0:37 AM, 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 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 .

I still think if Gus just allows Jeremy to play against UGA, or worked on backup QBs (or the passing game in general) in blowout games last year, the season would've been alot better. Seeing all the times games would be over with and we wouldn't try to improve any fundamentals IN GAME TIME always gave me a bad gut feeling especially with Sean being who he was/is.

[aubiefifty 16,736]

Could Malik Willis be Auburn's version of Jalen Hurts?

Creg Stephenson | cstephenson@al.com

The buzziest player at Auburn spring practice has been a quarterback newcomer, just not the one everyone expected it to be.

True freshman Malik Willis, and not Baylor transfer Jarrett Stidham, garnered most of the headlines after the Tigers' first scrimmage of the spring last Saturday (Stidham was apparently not taking live reps that day, but the hype train for Willis powered into motion nonetheless). At least two teammates publicly compared Willis to former Auburn standout Nick Marshall, who led the Tigers to the SEC championship and to within a few plays of a national championship in 2013.

So is it possible that Willis beats out everyone else on campus and forces his way into the lineup as a true freshman the way Alabama's Jalen Hurts did last year? It's possible, but not likely.

For one thing, Auburn has two players who have started multiple games at quarterback against power 5 competition in Stidham and Sean White. Last year at Alabama, Cooper Bateman had one start and everyone else Hurts was competing against had none.

Said another way, Stidham and White have their flaws, but they're leagues ahead of where Alabama's Bateman, Blake Barnett and David Cornwell were in terms of experience and college quarterback credentials at this time last year. In retrospect, Hurts stepped into a perfect situation to win the Crimson Tide starting job as a true freshman.

Setting aside redshirt freshman Woody Barrett for a second, it would probably take injuries to both Stidham and White for Willis to even be considered for regular playing time in 2017. Is it possible the Tigers create some sort of package to take advantage of Willis' skills? It might be.

And by all accounts, Auburn is shifting away from the run-first mentality it has utilized under Gus Malzahn to this point and in which Marshall was so successful. New offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey is no doubt looking for a polished passer under center, and Willis -- who didn't even play quarterback full-time until his senior year of high school -- just isn't that yet.

It would be a real shock if anyone other than Stidham is Auburn's regular starting quarterback this fall. White has his supporters, but if the Tigers coaches believed he could stay healthy for an entire SEC season, they would not have pushed so hard to sign Stidham.

Though Hurts faded somewhat (at least as a passer) down the stretch last season, his 2016 season was largely unprecedented and unlikely to happen again in the near future. He was SEC Player of the Year and led his team to within one defensive stop of a national title.

To expect another SEC player to accomplish a similar feat seems like a lot to ask. But in this era of true freshman quarterbacks -- South Carolina, Georgia and Ole Miss were also starting first-year players under center by season's end last year -- we at least have to consider the possibility.

[HarrisBoy334 63]

On 3/29/2017 at 0:46 AM, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I still think if Gus just allows Jeremy to play against UGA, or worked on backup QBs (or the passing game in general) in blowout games last year, the season would've been alot better. Seeing all the times games would be over with and we wouldn't try to improve any fundamentals IN GAME TIME always gave me a bad gut feeling especially with Sean being who he was/is.

I agree. I felt like they wasted alot of garbage time opportunities during the winning streak to get JFIII throws in game situations. Instead they ran him left and right....smh. Running was never his issue but the ball was dropped for chances to put passes on film and correcting him at practice.

[cole256 17,042]

On 3/29/2017 at 0:46 AM, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I still think if Gus just allows Jeremy to play against UGA, or worked on backup QBs (or the passing game in general) in blowout games last year, the season would've been alot better. Seeing all the times games would be over with and we wouldn't try to improve any fundamentals IN GAME TIME always gave me a bad gut feeling especially with Sean being who he was/is.

Absolutely. It sort of tripped me out that most don't agree with that. I called it the miss st game...that goes for running pettway to death as well. 

[aubiefifty 16,736]

theplainsman.com

 

Freshman quarterback drawing rave reviews

By Will Sahlie | Assistant Sports Editor | 04/03/17 8:02pm

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Source | AL.com

Julie Bennett/AL.com

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On Dec. 30, 2016, Auburn picked up an under-the-radar commitment from three-star quarterback Malik Willis. To this point in the spring, Willis has been one of the more impressive Auburn newcomers.

Willis, who de-committed from Virginia Tech one day before his pledge to Auburn, racked up 2,562 passing yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior at Roswell (Ga.) High School. The dual-threat quarterback also ran for 1,033 yards and 10 scores, leading Roswell to a berth in the 7A Georgia State championship. He was named the Class 7A Region 4 Player of the Year by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Willis, who was one of Auburn’s eight early enrollees, is unlikely to crack the first-team unit this fall, but his teammates and coaches are already raving about the star athlete. He is even drawing comparisons to former Auburn star quarterback Nick Marshall.

“He reminds me a little bit of Nick Marshall with the way he runs and the way he throws the football,” Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said. “Malik’s got a very strong arm, and that’s really what stands out to me right now.”

During Auburn’s first spring scrimmage, Willis threw touchdown passes to Darius Slayton and John Franklin III. Willis is competing with redshirt freshman Woody Barrett for a backup role this fall.

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

The similarities between Willis and Marshall extend farther than just their playmaking ability. Willis also wears No. 14, the number that Marshall donned during his days at Auburn.

“I think Malik is going to be a really good player,” Auburn junior quarterback Sean White said. “He has a lot of potential to him. He’s really athletic and has a really good attitude. I really like him a lot. He’s come to learn and he’s a good player.”

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

Also like Marshall, Willis spent the majority of his high school career playing defensive back. He did not make the full-time move to quarterback until his senior season. With just one year under center under his belt, Malzahn and new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey have a sensational athlete that they can mold how they want.

“We really felt like, as a staff, if this guy had been playing quarterback for two to three years, he’d been one of the tops in the country,” Malzahn said.

Willis will split reps with the rest of the quarterbacks in Auburn’s final scrimmage of the spring. Auburn’s A-Day scrimmage on Saturday will be at 1 p.m. CST on the SEC Network.

[aubiefifty 16,736]

Auburn's Chip Lindsey pumping the brakes on Nick Marshall comparison for freshman Malik Willis

Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

One name has been invoked time and time again when describing Auburn freshman Malik Willis this spring -- that of former Auburn signal-caller Nick Marshall.

There are the obvious comparisons: Willis wears the No. 14 jersey, just like Marshall did during his two seasons on the Plains. Willis, like Marshall, is also a true dual-threat whose athleticism has earned him plaudits from teammates.

The comparisons stop there, for now, at least in the eyes of Auburn offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, who was an offensive analyst at Auburn in 2013 during Marshall's first season and is now coaching Willis in his first spring on campus.

"It's a big comparison," Lindsey said. "Nick was a really good player. I think Malik has done a lot of really good things, for sure, but at the same time, you know, we're not ready to say that yet.... He's growing, he's getting better, but like I said, that's a big comparison."

While Willis isn't close to the level of Marshall, who excelled at running Gus Malzahn's Hurry Up, No Huddle offense for two seasons, the freshman early enrollee has been one of the biggest surprises of the spring for Auburn.

 

Teammates: Willis 'has a lot of similarities' to former star Nick Marshall

Freshman quarterback Malik Willis was the offensive standout of Auburn's first scrimmage on Saturday, and the early enrollee has impressed in his first eight practices.

 

The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder has impressed his new teammates with his athleticism and arm. He stole the show during the Tigers' first spring scrimmage nearly two weeks ago, when he threw two touchdowns in the 107-play affair inside Jordan-Hare Stadium while going live for the first time against Auburn's defense.

"Malik Willis is a baller, a straight baller," running back Kam Martin said after Auburn's second scrimmage. "For an incoming freshman that's still supposed to be in high school, I feel like he's doing very good. His legs, I feel like he's very similar to Nick Marshall. When he gets in there, he gets the job done. He might mess up a few times, but he'll get the job done."

To that end, Willis is still learning the position. After playing receiver for most of his high school career, Willis only began playing quarterback full-time after transferring to Roswell (Ga.) High for his senior season.

 

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 more he works with Lindsey, who has established himself early in his career as a developer of quarterbacks, as well as his private quarterback coach Sean McEvoy, with whom Willis works when he's back home in Georgia, Willis should continue to progress as a signal-caller. Malzahn said it's too early to say if Willis will redshirt in 2017, but there are still areas he needs to improve in before he is an SEC-caliber quarterback.

"Malik, he's athletic," quarterback-turned-receiver Jason Smith said. "He's real athletic. I can see some flashes of me back in the day. You know, that's long gone. He definitely has similar traits to Nick Marshall. I think he can definitely improve with his throwing. It's coming along. He's an athlete. His feet are going to make plays themselves."

Willis will have one more chance to prove himself this spring with Saturday's A-Day, which Lindsey said will be important for him and the rest of Auburn's inexperienced quarterbacks.

"Coach Lindsey's expectations now is just take the next step," Malzahn said. "... He's got something to him. He's got something to him -- he's got some natural abilities."

[LKEEL75 2,566]

I really hope he gets to redshirt this year and put on some weight.  Would be great to see him at about 210 with same athletisim

[bikeriderga 134]

IMHO, Malik WIllis needs a little more time to develop.

Does that mean he cannot play if called upon in the fall? No, it means he is an elite talent that needs time to grow into the role. Here are a couple of questions and answers, as well as attributes based upon what I have heard and what I saw in JHS yesterday.

1. Question: Is Malik Willis as talented as they say? 
Yes. He is extremely talented. Based upon what I saw yesterday, he has to be one of the most underrated high school player in the country, per the recruiting services. No way this guy is a three star talent. High 4 star would be the lowest rating he would actually deserve based upon his Spring performances.

2. Is Malik Willis a true dual threat QB? 
Although the QBs were not live yesterday, he showed how fleet of foot he can be. Unlike many dual threat QBs, he did not run first when the first sign of trouble showed. He was a very patient runner. That showed a lot of maturity as well as good coaching. Yes, he can really chunk the pigskin as well as run.

3. Is he an accurate passer? 
Yes. It was surprising how accurate he was considering his age and his time on campus.

4, On a scale of 1-10, where would you rank him talent wise? 
That depends upon if we are taking into consideration his age and experience. If you take into account his age, experience, and time on campus, he has to be a high 9. Comparing him to other SEC QBs is not fair for now. However, if you have to go that route, based solely on what I saw, I would say 6.

5. What kind of upside would you say Malik has? 
High, extremely high. If he stays healthy and keeps out of trouble, there is no doubt in my mind he will be Auburn's starter one day. None, zilch, nada. The only way I can see (at this point in time) that he is not Auburn's starter in the future is if another Cam Newton is recruited.

6. Are the Nick Marshall comparisons legit? 
Honestly cannot say. We were not running the option type offense that made Marshall so effective and dangerous. DId not see him live either.

Is he fast? Yes. Can he get out of trouble and is he swift on his feet? Yes.

However, based solely on what I saw, Malik is a lot better passer than Nick Marshall was. He had no problem with his accuracy, especially when playing with the first team offense.

7. Is he ready to assume the starting role? 
With Stidham and White on the roster, I would honestly say no. Without them, yes, he could. However, I would much rather give him a year to be coached and to learn to finely tune his craft. It will be better for him in the long run.

8. Should he be redshirted? 
That's a tough one. That would be a great luxury, but I am not sure if the coaches will be capable of keeping him off the field in some blowout games. If Stidham or White go down with injuries, forget it. The red shirt will come off, FAST!

9. What would you say are Malik Willis' best attributes?

Speed, the ability to make defenders miss. Secondly he is an accurate passer and throws beautiful tight spirals.

However, what really impressed me is his QB mindset. Keep in mind this is only a true freshmen, but he made several checkdowns from the line and was able to look off the primary and even secondary receivers and find that third receiver that was open. You cannot teach that. You either have the ability to quickly scan the field or you don't.

Malik's ability to improvise, along with those innate skills and abilities, is what separates this true freshmen apart from many others we have had in the not too distance past.

Kudo's to this coaching staff for seeing what so many team coaches and recruiters missed and missed BADLY!

[AU64 10,122]

On 3/29/2017 at 1:46 AM, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I still think if Gus just allows Jeremy to play against UGA, or worked on backup QBs (or the passing game in general) in blowout games last year, the season would've been alot better. Seeing all the times games would be over with and we wouldn't try to improve any fundamentals IN GAME TIME always gave me a bad gut feeling especially with Sean being who he was/is.

I lobbied for Woody to play last year when SW was ailing and JF3 did not look capable of running the offense and the explanation was...:why burn his red shirt for just a few games"   but after yesterday, looks like the reason for not doing it was really....he was just not good enough to make a difference so why do it.  JMO but I think WB's QB career at AU is over ...he is at least 4th in the depth chart and not likely to go any higher. .  

JMO but Willis is a future QB for AU and I'm hoping he is red shirted...no point of having him use up a season watching JS and SW running the team.

[AUwent 3,747]

^Yeah, our QB situation this year APPEARS to be night and day from last year.

[au75 75]

Auburn will have a great QB next year in JS or SW.  But, the big difference 2017 will be AUBURN will have a great sub if the starter is injured.  Auburn has not had that in the last 2 years.  

[80Tiger 899]

8 minutes ago, au75 said:

Auburn will have a great QB next year in JS or SW.  But, the big difference 2017 will be AUBURN will have a great sub if the starter is injured.  Auburn has not had that in the last 2 years.  

From what I saw yesterday we have a  #1 QB and it is not close. 

[Charhair 345]

I'm glad CCL said that about the comparisons. 

The NM comparisons are there, physically. The kid has blazing speed and can sling the ball. 

That was only a portion of Nick's game. He was one of the coolest and calmest QBs to play the game and his ability to play the read was top-notch. NM was just crazy smart/quick, imo.

If Willis continues to improve in throwing and learning the offense, stays in the weight room and all that, he could very well be held in the same regard. Which would make those comparisons accurate. 

Watching him play only one spring game (at the college level) is not enough to determine if he has that same "it" factor and mental-game that nick had. 

Theres a lot of players in college ball that can run past everyone and spread the defense with a good long ball (we've got one at WR) but that's just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to being an effective DT-QB.

Tldr: Even with great QB coaching, not every fast QB is going to be the next NM. We all know how excited we were about JJ after his limited action against cupcakes and arky. Gotta give the kid time to be coached and delevoped before we hand over any crowns.

[Gowebb11 9,313]

What Nick Marshall did was pretty amazing, and probably underrated. He spent his true freshman year playing DB in the SEC, played one year of JUCO ball as a QB, then led AU to an SEC title and National championship appearance.  Malik seems to have similar athleticism but has the advantage of being a QB his entire career. Because of that he will likely be a lot more polished at the position than NM.  If CCL is as good at QB development as I think he is, Malik has a VERY high ceiling. 

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

1 hour ago, Charhair said:

...

That was only a portion of Nick's game. He was one of the coolest and calmest QBs to play the game and his ability to play the read was top-notch. NM was just crazy smart/quick, imo.

...

Mr. Marshall's true genius included teamwork of a sort. TV cameras only hit ~50/50 on which player to follow out of the Marshall/Mason duet. Truly impressive.

[bigbird 60,445]

Malik is already far better than Nick was at passing. The best thing going for him is he will have a year or two to learn behind two good QBs and will actually have a good QB coach.

[DAG 33,957]

27 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Malik is already far better than Nick was at passing. The best thing going for him is he will have a year or two to learn behind two good QBs and will actually have a good QB coach.

People keep saying NM. I've always said he is going to be a lame Jackson of anything .

[Guest WarEagleSteve]

For those in the know, what are the odds that Malik winds up redshirting? Given our current QB situation it seems the sensible thing to do. JS is more than likely our starter with SW as the backup. That leaves either Woody or Malik as your QB3. Malik is clearly better but I think it would be smart to save his eligibility. In this scenario, either Sean or Woody gets your garbage time reps and you can always burn the RS in the hopefully unlikely event that both JS and SW get hurt. 

[bigbird 60,445]

1 minute ago, WarEagleSteve said:

For those in the know, what are the odds that Malik winds up redshirting? Given our current QB situation it seems the sensible thing to do. JS is more than likely our starter with SW as the backup. That leaves either Woody or Malik as your QB3. Malik is clearly better but I think it would be smart to save his eligibility. In this scenario, either Sean or Woody gets your garbage time reps and you can always burn the RS in the hopefully unlikely event that both JS and SW get hurt. 

IMO, 1. JS. 2 SW. 3 WB. RS MW

If there is an injury to 1 or 2, then the RS comes off

[aucanucktiger 1,791]

14 hours ago, DAG said:

People keep saying NM. I've always said he is going to be a lame Jackson of anything .

Man oh man but NM was a play-action wizard in 2013 - the Freezemaster tricked so many D's that season that almost every Auburn play had a significant head start. (Unfortunately D's were ready for it by 2014). If Malik's fakes are half as good we're in for a treat.   

[ellitor 33,077]

Watched @Willis_Malik7 workout today. Goodness his arm has gotten better since last time I saw him and has gained 15 lbs at Auburn already. pic.twitter.com/uxMlR2OAdS

— Rusty Mansell (@Mansell247) May 28, 2017

[augolf1716 21,101]

16 minutes ago, ellitor said:

looks like he has a cell phone tucked into his pants