Malik Willis was once immersed in the fire of SEC football at Auburn, not playing a whole lot for the Tigers in 2017 and 2018 but still there, with the intensity that came along with the experience.
The former Auburn quarterback and current Miami Dolphins signal caller played in 12 games on the Plains, not starting any of them and only throwing a combined 14 passes during those 2 years with 1 touchdown toss. He never threw an interception for the Tigers before moving on to Liberty, where he finished his collegiate career in 2021.
Willis threw plenty of touchdown passes at Liberty but also tossed a combined 18 interceptions, so that right arm of his that’s gotten him a ticket into the NFL since he was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in 2022 isn’t quite perfect. He’s even a work in progress in the NFL, a reality that the Titans and Green Bay Packers found out before the Dolphins signed Willis to a lucrative deal with $45 million guaranteed to hopefully be their answer at quarterback.
Those long-suffering Dolphins fans got to see Willis’ arm on display on Friday night at a Miami Marlins game, where he threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Marlins’ game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Let’s just say that those Dolphins-Marlins fans hope his accuracy is a little bit better on the gridiron this fall than it was on the mound on the first night of May, as he uncorked a first pitch to forget that was nowhere near the intended target waiting at home plate.
The home crowd in Miami groaned as the pitch floated into oblivion, because remember Dolphins fans have been waiting a long time for the right guy behind center since Dan Marino just about perfected the position and spoiled Miami fans for many years. But Willis had a simple explanation for the pitching mishap — he slipped. Hey, at least he wanted to explain why the pitch was so off target, instead of pretending like it never happened.
Willis reassuring Marlins fans — and Dolphins fans, alike — that it was a simple case of slipping on the Instagram post was his first case of damage control after signing with Miami in March. He’s got a nervous fan base to satisfy, and they certainly hope that right arm behaves better when the throws really matter come this fall.
Willis spent 2 seasons at Auburn, where he was exposed to the rush of trying to win an SEC title. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the top teams in the SEC that it believes are in the mix to be holding that SEC trophy come December:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
