The cannon arm of Kentucky signal-caller Will Levis now the betting favorite to go #2?
Levis is now the frontrunner for the No. 2 pick at +125, while CJ Stroud is way back at +400
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Ric on Will Levis for Sports Illustrated Draft Coverage
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One-Liner:
A quick-reacting quarterback that is mechanically sound but will need to learn to go through his progressions at the next level. S2 cognition score = 93%
Background:
The two-time team captain and letter winner at Kentucky measured 34-inch vertical jump, 10-foot 4-inch broad jump, 10.5-inch hands, and 32-inch arms at the NFL Combine. Earned the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Division I Football Team Member of the Year award. Transferred to Kentucky in 2021 from Penn State as a graduate (finance). Graduated from Kentucky with a master’s degree in finance in December 2022.
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. Son of Michael and Beth Levis. Siblings are Kelley, Jillian and Claire. Comes from a family of athletes as his great-grandfather, Alva Kelley, was an All-America football player at Cornell University and won a National Championship in 1939. Alva Kelley went on to be the head football coach at Colgate University, Hobart College and Brown University. Father was a tight end at Denison University. Mother was two-time All-America soccer player at Yale and has been inducted into the Connecticut Girls’ Soccer Association Hall of Fame. Repped by CAA.
Evaluation:
Transferring from Penn State to Kentucky allowed Levis to link up with offensive coordinator Liam Coen, a protege of Sean McVay who inserted him into a scheme tailor-made for his skill-set. One thing about Levis is that everything he does is uber-quick. He ran an up-tempo offense for the Wildcats based on quick reads and fast decision-making, working in the kind of high-octane scheme that many NFL teams are attempting to mimic. In addition to his game-changing intangible, it’s obvious that Levis puts in the time. It shows up in his mechanics, as he possesses great footwork and carries out his fakes with an added emphasis. Overall, he does a lot of the little things that will translate well at the next level. When you combine the prototype size, athleticism, arm talent and alpha leadership traits, Levis is one of the most intriguing quarterbacks in the draft. 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, he will need to cut down the turnovers. He is an older quarterback, and evaluators will expect to see him quickly 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, although he is used to playing through multiple injuries.
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.
Q&A With Will Levis
How was your meeting with the Carolina Panthers and Frank Reich?
Yeah, it's fun. Josh McCown was in there too, so they kind of had him explain the offense and then have me relay it back to them. I think it's great for them to kind of figure out my knowledge and then also learn whatever I can from them as well.
How do you think the Kentucky offense will help with your transition to the NFL?
Yeah I think that our terminology crosses over with a lot of different teams in the league. So when they're asking about the plays that we run and we're watching tape and I'm running through what our footwork or what our language that we used was, it was kind of cool when they can kind of realize right away that it's the same or very similar to what they do.
Do you think that you’re a Super Bowl caliber quarterback?
Yeah, my goal is to win more than anybody. I want to be the greatest of all time. I think you're crazy if you don't think that way.
How would you describe your college career?
I think this past year, the season didn't go as well as we would have wanted it to. But I learned a lot from it. Learned how to kind of battle through adversity and dealt with a lot of things physically, situationally that was tough. But just became a better player, better quarterback because of it. I mean, I'm going to show what I'm about once I get to that next level and do my best to show that to these coaches throughout this week.
What was it like playing in the Big Ten versus the SEC?
They're great. People always try to tell me to put one above the other, but I mean, it's tough. It's been such a privilege to play in such two great conferences. And when I did make the transition from Penn State, I wanted to make sure I was going against high-level competition, like I was in the Big Ten. Playing in the SEC was important to me. Shoot, I've seen a lot of great players across a lot of great teams, going back to the Big Ten. My first real game experience was against Ohio State and Chase Young gave me a tough time. So that goes back a little bit but great players across the board. It's hard to put one in front of the other.
Heard you watch a lot of Joe Burrow?
Joe is someone, especially in this offseason, that I focused a lot on. I think this offseason, compared to offseasons in the past, I've really tried to perfect the movement leading up to the throw. I think that when I make some inaccurate passes, it's due to how I'm initiating the movement leading into it. A lot of times I could get away with it because of how talented of an arm I have. Joe, I think, does better than anyone else in terms of movement in the pocket. Not the fastest guy, but just able to move so efficiently to put himself in a stable base to make efficient throws. Been watching a lot of film on him this offseason.
What part of your game have you been working on leading up to the combine?
Not necessarily anything with the upper body, but everything from the waist down. How I'm initiating movement, where I'm using force and which muscles I'm using. I'm a pretty built guy but I kind of realized just as I started my offseason training, how kind of weak I was in my abductor and lower core areas. So being able to engage those and push through those areas and use my feet in ways that are going to put me in advantageous situations to get a good platform and get the ball off efficiently without really having to worry that much about the upper half has been interesting.
What has been the focus during your offseason workouts?
Just my recovery. I mean, coming off a couple tough injuries this past season. Really spent the first handful of weeks doing treatment. The foot, the shoulder. Finally hit a spot as of three, four weeks ago feeling really, really good about my body. Confident that I can go and use my athleticism to my advantage, kind of like I wasn't able to in the second half of the season, especially.
What separates you from other quarterbacks in this year’s draft class?
I think physically, I just have my arm talent. I think I've got one of the stronger arms to come out of any draft class in recent memory. And then just who I am as a person - my morals, my values. I think that's been the most beneficial thing to be able to share with these coaches throughout these formal and informal interviews to just get to know me as a person and get them to understand how seriously I take every aspect of my life and how much I love ball. And how I'm able to use those values and morals to make me the best person in the locker room and on the field as possible."
Why did you choose to throw at the combine?
Because I got a cannon and I want to show it off.
What does it mean for offensive coordinator Liam Coen to return to Kentucky?
It's great. It's great for the guys. I know that Coach (Mark) Stoops is really happy about it. I know he's going to make the best decision for the program. But I mean, (Coen) loves it there. I know he's excited to be back. And I know that Devin (Leary) and all the other guys are going to be able to learn a lot from them and we're going to take a big step going forward.
What can you bring to an NFL team in the short term, versus the upside in the long term?
I think right now I can bring them a championship team. That's the confidence I have. I think I'm able to assimilate myself very, very well, I believe. That's the confidence I have due to my experience and due to my physical tools. I think that I'm immediately able to be plugged into any offense, learn it well, and become a leader very quickly for whatever team I play for. But obviously, the goal is to progress. I want to get better every year. I'm not expecting myself to be the best quarterback in the league right off the bat. That's just what development is all about. That's what I'm going to lean on the coaches and the staff and the players around me to help get to that level.
What did you learn about your time at Penn State?
I learned a lot. I learned that sometimes things don't go your way and you just gotta put your head down and keep working. The things that I stand for, and the mantra I always live my life by is: never give up. That whole time I was there, I never gave up. I walked in that building every day, prepared as if I was the starter, tried to show the coaches and my teammates that I had the capabilities to do that. When I made the decision to transfer, I kind of felt like I was going against that mantra. But at the same time, I realized I wasn't giving up. I was going to stick to whatever was best for me. And I was going to take my shot and go play my cards somewhere else. Learned a lot, nothing but love for all the coaches and all the players at Penn State. And wouldn't trade that time for anything.
What kind of character will you bring to an NFL locker room?
I think my leadership style would definitely be that, which is just lead by example. I kind of liken it to how I first got to Kentucky. I wasn't the starter right away. I didn't step in and start being that kind of 'rah-rah' guy and just started to boss people around. What you do is you put your head down and earn the respect of others through your work. That's what I'm going to plan on doing. It's kind of just a feel process. Once you know that you've gained the trust of the coaches or players, or once you're named the starter or whatever, that's when you can kind of start transitioning into more of a vocal leadership role, being able to understand and step in and talk to guys individually when you think that it's necessary. That kind of process is just gradual but you gotta feel it out. So my ability to feel out of that situation, understanding that dudes need to be led in different ways, and I think just my character. My respect. My ability to talk to anybody with the highest level of respect and be able to put myself in their shoes and understand and learn from there. I think that's what's great about being a leader. You're bettering yourself by bettering others, because you're bringing them along and learning more about yourself at the same time.
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.
Hope you have a great Sunday!