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Malik Willis is expected to be one of the first two quarterbacks selected in the NFL draft on Thursday, alongside Kenny Pickett. Willis is a dual-threat quarterback who was as lethal running the ball as he was throwing the ball at Liberty.
NFL analyst Pete Prisco had a rather controversial opinion on Malik which he expressed on Sunday, on CBS Sports HQ Mock Draft. Prisco called Willis a running back and confidently proclaimed that he's not skilled enough to be a quarterback. Prisco's statement was deemed racist and insensitive by football fans who reacted on social media.
Football writer Tyler Forness called out Prisco for lacking awareness of how Liberty's offensive scheme ran. Forness also pointed out the undertones of racism in Prisco's comments.
"This kind of thing drives me nuts. Outside of the standard issues and undertones of racism, he lacks any context of the Liberty offense which would have explained everything he has an issue with."
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A Chicago Bears fan questioned how black quarterbacks are still receiving this kind of criticism in 2022. Sadly, history has seen black and mobile quarterbacks such as Lamar Jackson, Michael Vick, and Kordell Stewart receive these same types of comments.
One Cincinnati Bengals fan tweeted that Prisco's comments were racist.
Another football fan defended Malik Willis from Prisco. This user said that the analyst doesn't deserve any attention whatsoever for his insensitive comments.
"Pete Prisco is an absolute HACK and he deserves not even a sliver of attention."
A Pittsburgh Steelers fan called Prisco's take ignorant. He acknowledged Malik Willis isn't a traditional pocket quarterback but pointed out that the position has evolved over the last two decades.
A Philadelphia Eagles fan took a shot at Prisco for his bad draft takes in the past. They cited Prisco once claiming Christian Hackenberg was an A+ grade pick back in 2016.
"You pumped up Christian Hackenberg as an A+ pick for the Jets, Mr. Expert. Did you ever get glasses after that?"
Hackenberg was picked up by New York Jets as the 51st overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He ended up never playing a single down for the team as he was completely out of sorts in the training and practice sessions.
One Miami Dolphins fan stood up for Malik Willis by saying Prisco is regularly inaccurate in his draft predictions.
"Pete Prisco isn't respected by anyone with a Brain. He never has broken an accurate story and regularly misses on most draft prospects."
Robert Littal is the founder and a contributor to Blacksportsonline.com. He questioned why Prisco was insensitive enough to say Willis could play running back but not quarterback.
"I just don't understand what is so hard about just sticking to the what you think a QB will be as a QB as opposed to throwing in the running back line, just totally unnecessary and insensitive to Willis."
Another football fan pointed out that Lamar Jackson experienced the same thing in the 2018 draft when coming out of Louisville as a former Heisman Trophy winner. Those comments were proven inaccurate, as Jackson is a bonafide superstar and former league MVP.
"People said the same thing about Lamar and wanted him to change positions. He stood his ground, and now lined up to be one of the highest paid qb in the league."
The most prominent public figure to come out in support of Willis was Rich Eisen. Eisen tweeted that he watched Willis' combine workout in full. Eisen doesn't see how you could look at Willis and view him as a running back.
"Don’t know where this @malikwillis stuff on my TL came from but I personally witnessed his entire workout at the Combine and never once did I think 'running back'. Especially on when he dropped 60-yard dimes."
Malik Willis will look to overcome outdated stigmas on entering the NFL
Willis is unfortunately not the first person to have experienced alleged racism from scouts and analysts entering the NFL draft. As mentioned earlier, Jackson, Vick, and other black quarterbacks, who are mobile, often receive these kinds of comments.
Jackson spoke in regards to this exact situation in an appearance on LeBron James' podcast, The Shop: Uninterrupted, in March.
In the show, when it was mentioned that, despite a great record, Jackson was often considered not suited to the quarterback position, most likely due to him being African-American, he stated:
"That's why I need the championship. That's why."
Willis' game isn't complete by any stretch of the imagination. He still has holes in his game to work on, but who doesn't? Willis' strengths make him a unique and multi-dimensional prospect.
People like Prisco must come to learn there are many ways to play quarterback in today's NFL.
