‘He won the job.’ Will Levis’ presence, big arm made him UK’s clear choice at QB.
He has only been in Lexington a few months, but Will Levis is officially the big man on campus.
University of Kentucky football head coach Mark Stoops officially announced Levis as the starting quarterback during an impromptu Sunday news conference, announced minutes after reports surfaced that he had addressed the team to inform them of the decision.
Levis’ efficiency in running UK’s offense through two weeks of camp, including the team’s first scrimmage on Saturday, was a difference-maker. Stoops said he’s completed 74 percent of his passes on what he called “gradable snaps” and that he threw a 65-yard touchdown pass on his first live play in Saturday’s scrimmage.
“He has a lot of talent,” Stoops said. “He’s been doing some things really good. He’s been very efficient. He’s got unbelievable arm strength. He’s a big, strong guy. He won the job.”
Levis’ performance in Saturday’s scrimmage left quite an impression on Stoops, who said all three quarterbacks vying for the starting job — Levis, junior Joey Gatewood and sophomore Beau Allen — had done well in camp. It was “clear,” though, following the Cats’ first scrimmage, who should get the ball when UK hosts Louisiana Monroe on Sept. 4.
Stoops lauded Levis’ presence in the locker room, which was thought by some to be a potential road block to him being named the starter since he’d only been around since May.
“I feel very clear on this decision,” Stoops said.
Stoops up until Sunday had been coy about sharing details with media about the quarterback battle — he joked around Saturday afternoon about keeping assistant coach Vince Marrow away from the mics after glowing comments he made about Levis earlier in the week — but says he treats the decision more seriously than he often comes across.
“I want to be very clear on that,” Stoops said. “When you’re dealing with these young people’s lives, I take that very serious. These guys work their entire life to have an opportunity to be a starting quarterback at a Power Five program, and they all are very vested in what they do.”
Stoops also shared that Gatewood intended to enter his name into the NCAA’s transfer portal, which he did do on Monday. Giving a player like Gatewood a window in which to transfer before officially enrolling in fall classes was part of the decision to name a starter now.
It also affords Levis more time to develop rapport with receivers and running backs within the offense. Stoops wants to see the operation of the offense improve in the coming weeks, and naming a starter should make that go more smoothly.
He mentioned during his Saturday news conference that were a few instances in the scrimmage that, if it’d been a live game, he would have had to call for a timeout to avoid a pre-snap penalty.
“We huddle, and that’s very different in college football right now,” Stoops said. “But we still have a great sense of urgency. We still operate fast. I love the approach that (offensive coordinator) Liam (Coen) has and the different tempos that we can go with. But that takes some time, just terminology alone. … I want to feel 100 percent confidence when we walk off the field next Saturday after the next scrimmage that we’re game-ready.”
With Allen as the presumptive No. 2 quarterback, pending Gatewood’s transfer, that leaves true freshman Kaiya Sheron and sophomore Nik Scalzo competing for the No. 3 spot on UK’s depth chart. Stoops was complimentary of both on Sunday.
This story was originally published August 15, 2021 at 7:24 PM.
