Tennessee Titans fans, here is what you need to know about second-round pick Will Levis
Perhaps the most polarizing player in the 2023 NFL Draft class has finally found his professional home.
The Tennessee Titans selected Kentucky quarterback Will Levis with the No. 33 pick in the draft Friday. Levis had been projected as a first-round pick for most of the last year, but draft pundits were split on his future projections after a disappointing injury-marred senior season. Betting markets established Levis as the favorite for the No. 2 and No. 4 picks in the last week, but an early run on quarterbacks in the first round Thursday left Levis without an obvious landing spot and he was the top-ranked prospect available entering the second round Friday.
The Titans traded up Friday to select Levis with the second pick in the second round.
The debate about whether Levis’ draft slide was justified will not end now that he has been selected, but now he can start working to prove he was worthy of a first-round selection.
Titans fans, here is what you need to know about your new quarterback.
How Will Levis played for Kentucky
Levis spent the first three years of his college career as a run-first backup quarterback at Penn State before transferring to Kentucky in 2021 in search of a coaching staff that believed in his ability to make plays with his arm. He found that coach in Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who was bringing a version of the NFL offense built by Sean McVay to college football.
Kentucky needed just one week of preseason camp in 2021 to declare Levis the starter. Shortly thereafter he was elected a captain by his new teammates. In his first season in Lexington, Levis helped lead Kentucky to just the program’s second 10-win season since 1977. Levis was not perfect, but he showed impressive arm strength and mobility and showed obvious progress as a passer over the course of the season.
When Coen returned to the NFL as the offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams, Kentucky replaced him with San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello. In addition to learning a new offense, Levis lost his top three receivers from 2021 and three offensive line starters. The offensive line struggled, ranking 126th of 131 teams nationally in sacks allowed. Levis suffered turf toe on a hit early in the 2022 season that would plague him for the rest of the year, largely eliminating his ability to make plays with his legs.
In two years at Kentucky, Levis completed 65.7% of his passes for 5,232 yards, 43 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. As a junior, Levis rushed for 391 yards and nine touchdowns, but as a senior he was credited with a net loss of 107 rushing yards and just two touchdowns.
No Kentucky quarterback has started an NFL game at the position since former No. 1 overall pick Tim Couch’s last game in the 2003 season.
What Kentucky coaches say about Will Levis
“The message I keep trying to relay is there’s not going to be one single day that you work with Will Levis that you’re ever going to have to ask him for more. You’re never going to have to put a stipulation in his contract, you’re never going to have to ask him to be louder or communicate better or work harder or do extra work. All the things that do happen to guys that get drafted early that maybe don’t have the foundation quite yet or the understanding of what it truly takes to be a pro, he has all of that. That’s a given. That’s just God given. That’s how he operates. That’s how he works. You’re never going to have to, ‘I need more today, Will. I need you to be better in this walkthrough today, Will. I need you to be more locked into protections today, Will.’ Never going to have to happen, but what you do have to do is harness that a little bit.” — Liam Coen
Yes, Will Levis is a social media star
Before Levis started a game for Kentucky he garnered national headlines for two viral TikTok videos. In one, he ate a banana with the peel. In another, he drank a cup of coffee with mayonnaise in it.
During his breakout 2021 season, Levis was frequently introduced as the “banana-eating quarterback.” The social media attention helped him build a market for name, image and likeness endorsement deals but over the last year, Levis distanced himself from that initial notoriety.
While reporters continued to ask Levis about the videos, he said at the NFL combine the topic rarely came up in conversations with teams. Still, he made more headlines during the pre-draft process by posting a shirtless picture showing off his muscles to his social media accounts.
Peyton Manning has endorsed Will Levis
After serving as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy last summer, Levis remained in contact with Peyton Manning and his father Archie. That relationship was recently showcased in an ESPN special.
During the show, Peyton Manning offered a ringing endorsement of Levis following a film review session.
“I think this guy might have been genetically engineered to be an NFL quarterback,” Manning said. “It’s easy to see why the scouts like him. Tough, durable. Makes tight throws in tight windows.”
This story was originally published April 28, 2023 at 7:26 PM.