Malik Antonio Willis ( ; born May 25, 1999) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

and

Liberty Flames The Liberty Flames and Lady Flames are the athletics teams of Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. They are a member of the NCAA Division I level in 20 sports. As of July 1, 2023, LU is a member of Conference USA (CUSA) fo ...

, winning the 2020

Dudley Award The Dudley Award, named after former Virginia Cavaliers running back Bill Dudley, is presented annually by the ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' to honor the top college football player in Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virgin ...

with the latter. Willis was selected by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

in the third round of the

2022 NFL draft The 2022 NFL draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual NFL draft, draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise next to Las Vegas. The first round ...

and traded to the Packers in 2024.

Early life

Willis attended Westlake High School in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

before transferring to Roswell High School in

Roswell, Georgia Roswell is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States. At the official 2020 census, the city had a population of 92,883, making Roswell the state's ninth largest city. A suburb of Atlanta, Roswell has an affluent National Registe ...

, for his senior year. As a senior, he passed for 2,562 yards and rushed for 1,033 yards with 37 total touchdowns. A three star recruit, he committed to

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

to play

College career

Auburn

Willis spent 2017 and 2018 at Auburn and played in 15 games. During the two years, he completed 11 of 14 passes for 69 yards with a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

and rushed for 309 yards and two touchdowns.

Liberty

Willis transferred to

Liberty University Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...

in 2019 following a quarterback competition at Auburn with

Bo Nix Bo Chapman Nix (born February25, 2000) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played his first three seasons of college football for the Auburn Tigers ...

and sat out the season due to transfer rules. In 2020, he was named the team's starting quarterback. Against the

Southern Miss Golden Eagles The Southern Miss Golden Eagles and Lady Eagles (also known as Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles and Lady Eagles) are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), located in Hattiesburg, Miss ...

, he threw for six touchdowns and rushed for another. Willis was named the winner of the 2020

, given to the best college football player in the state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, and was the recipient of the 2021 Bobby Bowden Award, awarded to the best college football player who epitomizes being a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

student-athlete. He was named MVP of the

2020 Cure Bowl The 2020 Cure Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 26, 2020, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN. It was the 6th edition of the Cure Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football sea ...

and the

2021 LendingTree Bowl The 2021 LendingTree Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 18, 2021, and televised on ESPN. It was the 23rd edition of the LendingTree Bowl, and was one of the 2021–22 bowl games concluding the 2021 FBS football season. Onl ...

College statistics

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

Willis was drafted in the third round (86th overall) of the

by the

. He was considered a surprise fall in the draft as he was projected by some to be selected as high as second overall. He signed his four-year rookie contract on July 23, 2022. Willis made his NFL debut in Week 2 against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in the third quarter after the Titans benched

Ryan Tannehill Ryan Timothy Tannehill III (born July 27, 1988) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies, playing wide receiver until his junior year, and was selected eighth overall by the Miami Dol ...

. He completed one of his four passing attempts while throwing for six yards and rushed for 16 yards in the 41–7 loss. Willis was named as a starter in Week 8 against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, relieving Tannehill due to illness. In his first start, Willis completed 6 of 10 pass attempts for 55 yards and one interception in a 17–10 victory. Willis started in place of an injured Tannehill for a second consecutive week in Week 9 against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. He completed 5 of his 16 passing attempts for 80 yards in the 20–17 overtime loss. In Week 16 against the Texans, Willis started in place of Tannehill, who had aggravated an ankle injury. In the contest, he completed 14 of 23 passes for 99 passing yards and two interceptions as the Titans lost, 19–14.

Green Bay Packers

225px, Willis playing for the Packers in 2024. On August 26, 2024, Willis was traded to the

for a seventh-round pick in the

2025 NFL draft The 2025 NFL draft was the 90th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Lambeau Field and its adjacent Titletown District in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 24–26, 2025 ...

. After

Jordan Love Jordan Alexander Love (born November 2, 1998) is an American professional football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Utah State Aggies, where he was named to the seco ...

's injury in the season opener, Willis became the starter just weeks after joining the Packers. In his first start, Willis completed 12-of-14 passes for 122 yards, including his first career touchdown pass, and added 41 rushing yards to secure a 16–10 win against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. In his second start, Willis passed for 202 yards with a touchdown and led the team in rushing with 73 yards and a rushing touchdown in a 30–14 victory over his former team, the Tennessee Titans. With Love healthy, Willis did not appear again until Week 8 against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, leading the Packers to a game-winning drive after Love departed with a groin injury in the second half.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Willis' uncle is 10-year NFL linebacker James Anderson. Willis was raised as and remains a

. Most of his social media posts conclude with "TGFE," short for "Thank God for Everything."

References

External links

*
Green Bay Packers bio

Liberty Flames bio

Auburn Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Malik 1999 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen African-American Christians American football quarterbacks Auburn Tigers football players Liberty Flames football players Players of American football from Atlanta Tennessee Titans players Green Bay Packers players