LYnchburg, VA — Liberty quarterback Malik Willis impressed the school's pro records of 60 NFL coaches, scouts and officials from all 32 teams with arm strength and athleticism, which earned him a first-round draft pick.
Willis was particularly impressive Tuesday with an improvised strike that hit 65 yards in the air, something the 22-year-old didn't have time to set before launching the bomb.
But what impressed Willis the most, saying he came into the day with no goals or expectations, had happened the night before while having dinner with Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.
"I'm like, 'Is Mike Tomlin eating chicken wings? Willis said in amazement after a session that included 70 scripted throws. "That's what you want. I mean, he's a normal dude."
Tomlin, whose team has its 20th pick in the April 28 draft, was one of two head coaches in attendance. The other was Carolina coach Matt Roulette, whose team has the sixth pick.
Roulette and offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo spent most of Willis' 70 scripted plays within 10 to 15 yards of the quarterback. Scott Fitterer of Carolina, one of four general managers/executives in attendance, was not far behind.
Other general managers/executives were Terry Fontenot of Atlanta, Kevin Colbert of Pittsburgh and Marty Harney of Washington.
Carolina and Atlanta came up short last week in an effort to trade for Houston quarterback Deshan Watson, who eventually went to Cleveland.
So both teams are in the market for a quarterback, even though Atlanta signed Marcus Mariota after trading Matt Ryan to Indianapolis and the Panthers still have Sam Darnold under contract.
Washington remains in the market despite being traded for Carson Wentz, as has Pittsburgh signing Mitch Trubisky to free agency.
There doesn't seem to be any long-term solution. Willis and Kenny Pickett of Pittsburgh, who held his pro day on Monday, could be. They appear to be the most likely signal-callers to go into the first round, probably the top 10, which is treated as a draft with a weaker quarterback class.
There was nothing weak about Willis' pro day, which attracted fewer than 120 observers originally expected after the quarterback market was reset by free agency.
The ball went out of his hands, as many coaches wanted to see first. There was no play more impressive than 65-yards, at which Willis took a snap from the center, dropped back, scrambled to his right, reversed his field to the left and then hit his receiver in a stride over the goal line. .
The throw drew the smiles of coaches like McAdoo. It drew applause from teammates and family members.
Willis responded by running down the field to hip bump his receiver before ending the session with a few red zone throws.
"what did you think of it?" Liberty coach Hugh Freeze said later.
The improvisations and throws backed up everything Freeze has been telling NFL teams for months: that Willis has the talent to become a star in the pros, even though he didn't always face top-level opposition at Liberty.
Asked by the three teams earlier in the day what Willis needs to improve on, Freese cited "truncated dropbacks", which sometimes shorten the time of plays.
But in terms of improving raw ability and athleticism, as he did for 65-yards, Freeze said there isn't an NFL team that can't use Willis based on the quarterback protection he saw in the playoffs.
Freese noted that Willis made plays in terms of talent with a rival in Liberty "where the people around him are not apples to apples". He said Willis would have no problem picking up the NFL playbook or football IQ.
Pro Day also showed, from what Freeze sees in practice every day, that Willis knows how to enjoy herself while being productive.
"I always try to go out and have fun," Willis said. "It's a child's play, and we're trying to get paid to do it. That's good in itself."
Willis did not participate in any drills other than throwing. When asked why he didn't run 40 yards, he smiled and said, "I'm faster."
"It would have been cool if I ran 40, but it didn't make sense," said Willis, who reportedly ran the 40 in 4.37 seconds as a sophomore at Auburn. "I'll just prove that I'm fast. And if you already think I'm fast and then I ran fast, I really didn't do anything."
"But I'm fast."
Willis is also quick-tempered. He showed that when asked what so many people on television and social media have been talking about him nationally in the past few months.
"They're getting bored," he said. "I swear they're bored. In the national spotlight, it's kind of weird. It's like, 'Hey, you care about some people I know.' I'm like, 'Dang, you behave like we're cousins.'"