NFL Draft Profile: Will Levis, Quarterback, Kentucky Wildcats
In this story:
#7
Pos: QB
Ht: 6037
Wt: 229
Hand: 1058
Arm: 3200
Wing: 7818
40: 4.70
DOB: 6/27/1999
Hometown: Madison, CT
High School: Xavier
Eligibility: 2023
Will Levis
Kentucky Wildcats
One-Liner:
A quick-reacting quarterback that is mechanically sound but will need to learn to go through his progressions at the next level.
Evaluation:
Today's college football climate allows for quarterbacks to seek out the next best situation and the scouting community has evolved to become accepting of that. In the case of Will Levis, if he stayed at Penn State, he would still be buried on the depth chart and nowhere near the NFL radar. Making the move to Lexington allowed him to link up with Liam Coen, a protege of Sean McVay and inserted him into an offensive scheme tailor-made for his skill-set. You will notice everything is ultra-quick. An up-tempo offense based on quick reads and fast decision-making. Levis gets rid of the ball in a hurry and it's the high-octane scheme that you see many NFL teams attempting to mimic. You can tell that Levis puts in the time, he works on his mechanics, he possesses great footwork, and his fakes are carried out with emphasis so that attention to detail is what you want to see from a franchise signal-caller. Now, he'll need to learn how to develop through some of his progressions, as he continues to take his game to the next level and he will need to cut down the turnovers-- he seems good for at least one interception per game. You can't win at the next level like that. He is an older quarterback (23 years old when kickoff rolls around), and evaluators will expect to see him develop in those areas. There also has to be some minor concern with his running style when he tucks and runs, he leaves himself vulnerable to big hits, which could result in injury over the course of a 17-plus game season. Overall, he does a lot of the little things that will translate well; the offense also asks him to take snaps from under center at times, which has become a forgotten art. When you combine the prototype size, athleticism, arm talent and alpha leadership traits, Levis will be a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Grade:
1st Round
Background:
Will Levis, from Newton Massachusetts, has a chance to be one of the best prospects in this upcoming draft. Levis, with all of his stats and accolades, has a background of football that he thrives off of. He is the great grandson of Alva Kelly, a Cornell football player as well as a Head Coach post-playing career. Levis not only has impressive on field success, but in the classroom as well. He graduated from Penn State in 2021 and in only three years and now is working for his finance Master’s Degree. With his ability to make plays for the Wildcats and his family tree of athletic success, Levis will look to have an excellent year for Kentucky and beyond.
Latest News:
Mark Stoops on Will Levis: “No.1 QB In The Draft”
With the 2022 NFL Draft in the rear view mirror, we turn our attention to the 2023 draft watch and it is shaping up to be a quarterback envious class.
While many draftniks think Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud or Alabama signal-caller Bryce Young will be in play as the first overall selection, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops believes otherwise. Speaking on KSR (05/06/22), he shared his thoughts on Wildcats front man Will Levis, who has been mocked in the first round.
“I know this: I know Will. I know how motivated he is and it’ll drive him to see any quarterback in front of him because I believe he believes he can be the number one quarterback picked and that he has that kind of ability and I think he’s going to have that kind of year.”
A late-bloomer, Levis burst onto the scene last season in a Wildcats offense catered to his mobility and use of play-action. It resulted in nearly 3,000 passing yards and 24 touchdowns—he also made a handful of costly turnovers.
There is no doubt that NFL scouts are going to love his arm strength and ability to squeeze the ball into tight windows but he will need to reel in some of his questionable decision-making.
Remember, Levis failed to beat out Trace McSorley and Sean Clifford during his time at Penn State and he’ll be 23 years old at the start of this season, so he is not considered a lock by any means.
The talent and skill-set certainly warrant an upward projection, however, much improvement will need to be shown in order for him to prove his worth as the top franchise quarterback available in the 2023 NFL Draft.
"Will Levis is a guy who is unapologetically him and I’ve said this before but I find it refreshing. People on social media sometimes give off a false narrative or try to be too perfect in a sense, but Will’s the kind of guy who can be unapologetically him and I find it refreshing. He’s also encouraged to do so. He’s not just receiving a bunch of backlashes for it." -- Kentucky OL Kenneth Horsey on QB Will Levis social media habits
"I’d say one of the three things is confidence, first and foremost. If you don’t believe that you’re the best, regardless of the realistic situation, then things are only going to go negatively for you. You need to go into every situation thinking that it’s going to go your way and that you’re the man. If you don’t have that mindset, then something’s got to be wrong with you. Second, I’d say work ethic. You’ve got to have an extreme work ethic in everything that you do, both on and off the field. Whether you’re studying in the library, going out to eat or in the facility, as a quarterback for a college program, you know that you have to represent yourself in the right way and you need to make sure that you’re working towards bettering yourself in all areas of life, both on and off the field. Third, I’d just say leadership. You have to be a good leader. You have to be someone that guys can look to and look at your actions and know that’s a guy who knows what he’s doing and I want to follow in his footsteps. That’s something that I’ve always done to the best of my ability, whether I was last on the depth chart or first. Having an offseason and being an established starter, I feel like now I have the ability to act as a leader in a different way, to be a little more vocal and know that guys are really looking to me to see what to do so that’s been really cool about the offseason." -- Kentucky QB Will Levis
