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One of the bigger standouts of the Tennessee Titans’ offseason program was quarterback Malik Willis, who routinely had his name mentioned by beat writers for a solid showing throughout.
Making things more interesting is the fact that Willis has, by all accounts, done better than rookie quarterback Will Levis, who is competing with the Liberty product for the No. 2 job behind Ryan Tannehill and supposed to be the next franchise quarterback after being taken in this year’s draft.
There has been a lot of writing off of Willis after a lackluster rookie season, but context is important here. Yes, Willis struggled, but he was also up against everything you don’t want a rookie quarterback up against.
“It’s a results-based business,” Willis said, per Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “It doesn’t matter what I think, it doesn’t matter what you think, it just is. I am just focusing on what I can control.”
Willis has heard all the noise, from the notion he was a project coming out of college, to the fans and media counting him out. So, what does it all mean to him?
“Nothing,” Willis said. “I come up here everyday and try to work hard and get better at what I do and that’s all that matters.”
“A lot of people took bad (from last season), but what you can do with three games, sporadic during your rookie season, trying to learn, everybody says you’re going to be project this, project that,” he added.
When asked what he’s trying to improve at, it was all about execution.
“Just executing each play and getting in and staying on schedule,” Willis said. “Doing everything to make sure we’re in the right plays and understanding what comes with that.”
With training camp next up on the offseason docket, Willis has not given an inch in terms of being the No. 2 quarterback, which sets things up to be very interesting once July 25 and, eventually, the preseason rolls around.
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