Stat Tiger article on how to use Willis

I don't think there is much debate that Jarrett Stidham is the one player on this year's Auburn roster; the Tigers can ill afford to lose for a significant period of the season. For this reason, the development of Malik Willis as the season progresses will be essential. Of the 275 snaps the Auburn offense took last season while leading by at least 15 points, only seven were pass attempts by Malik Willis. For the most part, Willis primarily was handing the football off when he took to the field for action. He attempted only seven passes last season, and six of those were within 5-yards of the line of scrimmage. Though he saw some playing time last season, it was not geared towards his development as a quarterback on the field to operate the offense.

Realistically speaking, if Stidham were to go down with injury, Willis would be the first up as the starter. I have no doubt the offense under Willis would not be the same game plan we would witness with Stidham as the starter. At this point in both their careers, Stidham is a far more polished passer and Willis is the better athlete of the two. Gus Malzahn and Chip Lindsey likely have a menu of plays and a base game plan to obtain the most of Willis if he were the starter. With this in mind, I believe it is essential for Willis to run this style of offense when he appears on the field, likely under "mop up" situations. There is a high probability Willis could see significant action during the first six games of the season in a relief role.

The style of offense would likely look similar to what we saw with Nick Marshall early on during the 2013 season, except the read-option would be the primary base of the attack immediately under Willis. Rather than forcing Willis to run the "Stidham" designed offense, it will be important for Willis to rep the style of offense he would operate within, should he become the starter. Last season we saw Willis run the read-option with a few early keepers that would result in a long run. Once he hit the big run, the majority of plays called were handoffs to the running backs to run out the clock. This season, I believe it is vital for Willis to run his complete version of the offense when he comes in a relief role.

It would be great to see a heavy dose of read-option with the speed Auburn has at running back with a few deep balls, and high percentage passes mixed into the play-calling. Regardless of the score, Willis needs to be allowed to grow into his role as the potential starting quarterback. The more reps he takes running his version of the offense in a relief role, the more prepared he will be should he be tossed into the starting role because of an injury to Stidham. At this juncture of his career, Willis isn't the passer Nick Marshall was in 2013, the more reason he needs the "live" reps to improve this facet of his game. Great coaching means placing your personnel in the best opportunity for success. A strong running game, great defense, and a kicking game could still keep the team alive with no Stidham in the lineup.

Malik Willis would still need to step up as a passer to beat the quality teams, but he needs to crawl before he walks. His time on the field in 2018 needs to be about his development as a quarterback than merely running the ball to expire the clock. I believe it would be exciting to see the variation in offensive schemes with Willis in the lineup at quarterback. The more he reps meaningful snaps, the more confident he will become. The read-option, short passes with a few deep balls could still be a dangerous offense to defend. During the 2013 season, there was an eight-game run through to the SECCG, where Auburn was committed to the read-option attack. Auburn averaged less than 17 passes per game, but they still had a 14:3 TD to interception ratio for 9.5 yards per attempt. The Tigers averaged 394-yards rushing during the 8-game stretch.

Just imagine the 2013 Auburn offense with a top-ten defense.... makes me smile!