Malik Willis Preparing To Compete For Starting Role For Titans

When it comes to the NFL, players in that league, and all professional athletes in general, expect competition. It’s a constant and can help players grow their games immensely.

Such is the case for the Tennessee Titans Malik Willis, who enters his second year as the Titans’ No. 2 quarterback. However, that position could change at some point in the coming weeks.

Rumors and speculation that the Titans could trade Willis began before last week’s NFL Draft, and some rumblings remain today that the former Liberty star could have a new home before the start of this season.

The reason is apparent: the Titans, particularly head coach Mike Vrabel, wasn’t happy with Willis’ performance when he got the opportunity to start last season without injured starter Ryan Tannehill.

Willis struggled mightily and was benched in favor of journeyman Josh Dobbs, who had only been on the team’s roster two weeks before starting the season’s final game in Jacksonville, with a spot in the playoffs on the line.

Now Willis is faced with even more competition following the addition of Titans second-round pick Will Levis to the quarterback competition.

While Willis has not publicly commented about the Titans drafting of another quarterback and moving up into round two to do it, his private quarterback coach did.

In an article by Nick Sus in The Tennessean on Friday, Sean McEvoy had some pointed comments about his client’s current situation with the Titans.

“I think it’s like getting news that you didn’t want. I think that’s the best way to look at it,” Sean McEvoy, Willis’ private quarterbacks coach, told The Tennessean. “You knew there was a possibility they were going to take a quarterback, either in the first round or the first three rounds. ... If you’re basing on when you last saw Malik in December, that was a guy the coaches perceived wasn’t ready to play. So if you’re looking forward at that quarterback room, there’s no ‘We’re definitely sure, 100% locked in with him’ guy. So I think it makes sense to add another person in that room.”

However, according to the report, Willis, who ended last season on the bench, is not the same player today.

“The promising piece was realizing the things that maybe held you back from playing at a higher level are the easiest things to fix,” McEvoy said. “Something like that, the timing and footwork, that’s a repetition game. That’s a 10,000 hours thing. Get your 2,000 reps a day of doing the footwork over and over and over until it becomes automatic and you don’t think about it.”

Being a competitor, Willis will enter camp with the opportunity to compete with Levis and Tannehill, and it’s up to him how far he can go based on his performance.

Titans Related Stories

RYAN TANNEHILL TALKS WIDE RECEIVERS SO FAR IN OFFSEASON PROGRAM: Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill shared his thoughts on his receivers at this point in the offseason program. CLICK HERE
UNDRAFTED RECEIVER COPELAND BRINGS SPEED TO TITANS: Jacob Copeland went undrafted, but signed with the Titans. He brings speed to the field and is one to watch for this team leading into training camp. CLICK HERE
INSIDE UNDRAFTED TITANS SAFETY TYREQUE JONES: Tyreque Jones, is a big, physical safety. and a player who could make some noise during the next few month for the Titans leading into training camp. CLICK HERE