New Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis gave Hurricanes fans a nice moment in his opening Miami press conference. When asked Thursday about former college teammate CJ Daniels, Willis said, "I'm always going to stand up for my guys," Willis said. "CJ is that dog. He got it in him."
The moment came during Willis' introductory session with Dolphins reporters after Miami signed him earlier this week.
Malik Willis says CJ Daniels is a dog🔥
— Grant Reacts (@GrantReacts1) March 12, 2026
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New Dolphins QB gives CJ Daniels a shoutout during press conference
Daniels is coming off a season at Miami in which he played in 13 games, caught 50 passes for 557 yards and seven touchdowns, and finished third on the team in both receptions and receiving yards.
The connection between the two goes back to Liberty. Willis played at Liberty from 2019 through 2021 after transferring from Auburn, while Daniels was at Liberty from 2020 through 2023. The two overlapped with the Flames in 2020 and 2021 before Daniels later transferred to LSU and then Miami.
Willis was electric in those two seasons, throwing for 2,250 yards, 20 touchdowns and 6 interceptions in 2020 while adding 944 rushing yards and 14 rushing scores. He then followed that with 2,857 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2021, plus 878 rushing yards and 13 more rushing touchdowns
Across his two Liberty seasons, he totaled 5,107 passing yards, 47 passing TDs, 1,822 rushing yards and 27 rushing TDs. Daniels was just getting started then, posting 11 catches for 220 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2020 and 37 catches for 629 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2021.
Daniels' finished his Liberty career with 106 receptions, 1,959 yards and 21 touchdowns, including a huge 2023 season of 55 catches for 1,067 yards and 10 scores.
Willis put up 422 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns and 0 interceptions in the 2025 regular season, along with 123 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns while completing 30 of 35 passes (85.7% completion rate). For his full NFL career, he has 1,322 passing yards, 6 passing touchdowns and 3 interceptions, plus 405 rushing yards and 4 rushing touchdowns.
Willis is stepping into a major role with the Dolphins after signing a three-year deal. Even in a joking answer, Willis made it clear he still believes in Daniels' game. And who knows, maybe the Dolphins keep Daniels in Miami and take him in the draft or sign him as an undrafted free agent.