Malik Willis started his college days at Auburn, but he didn’t play much over his first two seasons at the SEC school and decided to transfer to Liberty to finish out his time in school.
That proved to be a wise call for Willis. He threw for 5,117 yards and 47 touchdowns while running for 1,822 yards and 27 touchdowns in two years as the school’s starter, which helped make him one of the top draft prospects at the position this year.
Liberty doesn’t play the SEC schedule that Auburn plays and that’s led some to downplay Willis’ success as a byproduct of the competition that he faced the last couple of years. While at the Senior Bowl, Willis took issue with that critique.
“Football’s football, you’ve got to come out and play,” Willis said, via Darin Gantt of the Panthers website. “Y’all do us dirty because we’re a little small school, but football’s football. They work out every day, we work out every day. Our schedules when I was at Auburn and Liberty are pretty much the same. Y’all focus on that a little too much, in my opinion. It’s just more people at the game.”
Willis’ arm strength and athletic ability have many fans, which will make convincing interested teams that he’s able to handle the transition to the NFL his biggest task in the coming months.