Jim Grieshaber·
Willis has started creating separation in the quarterback competition by pairing his natural arm talent with generally sound
decision-making. He has produced roughly five throws per practice that stand out because of their difficulty, including dropping a deep crossing route to Tahj Washington from a muddy pocket with a defender in his face. On another play, pressure arrived from his right, forcing him to fade away from his throwing side, but he still layered the ball over the underneath defender to Seydou Traore. Willis also stepped up and ripped a pass to Cole Turner over the middle for an explosive gain. His most notable mistake came in the red zone when he left the pocket, stared down a crossing route and allowed Zayne Anderson to read his eyes, fall into the throwing window and intercept the pass. The precision, protection calls and overall operation still need work—there have been false starts and issues with snap and set points—but Willis’ ability to make difficult throws from imperfect pockets gives the offense something substantial to develop.