Pro Day Journal, Kentucky: Will Levis Wows with His Arm Strength
For the next month and change, the question of who will be the Indianapolis Colts' next quarterback will dominate the team's narrative.
Most believe the answer to that question lies ahead in the 2023 NFL Draft, as C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson, and Will Levis can all make a compelling argument to be picked within the first five selections.
On Friday, it was Levis' turn to show what he's made of as the University of Kentucky hosted its pro day in front of plenty of NFL scouts, coaches, and front office executives.
Horseshoe Huddle's Destin Adams was in attendance and brings you his thoughts from the day.
–Before practice, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops made himself available to the media, and when I asked him what he noticed about Levis during last season's adversity, Stoops had this to say:
–At the Scouting Combine, Levis told the media that he was excited to throw there because "I have a cannon and I want to show it". Today at Kentucky's pro day, he did just that. The velocity with which the ball comes out of Levis' hand when you see it live is nothing short of incredible. He had his down moments due to a few inaccurate balls where he left it short/behind his receiver as well as multiple drops from his receivers on the day (who were forced to do push-ups after practice as a result). But overall, it was a strong day for Levis, who showed off his biggest weapon and something that you simply can't coach, "his cannon." When I asked Levis after practice what separates him from the other QBs in this class, he shared his sentiment of being ready to play on Day 1. He also said that he has a top-30 visit with the Colts coming up.
–Chris Rodriguez Jr. has had a tremendous draft cycle to date, which started down in Mobile, Ala. at the Senior Bowl. Like in Mobile, Rodriguez shined in blocking drills but today he showed out his athletic ability that many had been questioning. Rodriguez elected to run the 40-yard dash where one scout near me had him clocked in at a 4.46 and another as low as a 4.53. It was a very strong time that got quite the reaction from scouts in attendance. Helping run Rodriguez's drills at the pro day was Colts area scout Mike Lacy. Although when asked, Rodriguez shared he hadn't had any contact with the Colts directly, he mentioned having a solid connection with Lacy at the Senior Bowl and caught up with him today at his pro day.
–The performance of electric defensive back Carrington Valentine today was highly anticipated after not doing agility testing at the Combine. His 40 did not disappoint as his instant pop out of his stance was electrifying and had multiple scouts stand from their seats comparing watches with each other. A scout near me had him at a blazing 4.38 and he honestly looked even faster. Valentine followed it up with a strong three-cone drill where he let out his excitement following the run, giving a look to the scouts watching that oozed utter confidence. The athletic ability for Valentine will get his name called come April for the draft and if a team thinks they can coach up his mechanics then it could be earlier than people realize.
