Kentucky Wildcats

Will Levis 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Chris McGlynn Draft, Football, NFL, Scouting Reports , , , ,

Name: Will Levis
Position: Quarterback
School: Kentucky
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 229 lbs
Games watched: vs. Ole Miss (2022), vs. Mississippi State (2022), vs. Georgia (2021), vs. Tennessee (2021), vs. Missouri (2021), Florida (2022)

Which version of Will Levis do you believe is the real one? The 2021 version that led Kentucky to a strong 10-3 season surrounded by decent NFL talent and playing in a better offensive scheme is what pushed Levis into the first-round conversation. The 2022 season plagued by injuries with a worse supporting cast and a new offensive scheme is why there is still discussion about where he will land.

Levis is unquestionably talented. However, his stats are far from eye-popping. He had 43 passing touchdowns over the past two seasons along with 23 interceptions. He makes up for some of the turnovers with his production on the ground. He had nine touchdowns on the ground in 2021. His two in 2022 can likely be chalked up to injuries to his lower body. For as much as we penalize Levis for his 2022 campaign, there really was not too much statistical drop off. At 23 years old, Levis is a bit further along in his development than several of the other quarterbacks in this class, but there is still some untapped potential in his game.

Pros

Levis has one of the strongest arms in this class. He has great zip on his throws and is capable of hitting every spot on the field. His throwing motion is also very fluid. The release is clean and consistent. His mobility is a huge plus in his game. He does an excellent job flipping his hips out of a rollout to get himself in position to throw downfield. Some of the window throws he makes on the run are absolutely ridiculous. As a runner, he has good straight line speed and decent wiggle. He will make defensive linemen miss in the pocket with his agility. Levis is known for finishing runs as well with power. At roughly 230 pounds, he is not an easy player to bring down.

Cons

Unfortunately, Levis’ accuracy does not match the rest of his arm talent. He really struggles to make throws over the middle and is guilty of throwing behind his receiver. The ball placement is just not there consistently enough, with Levis missing high a bit too often for my liking. His deep ball accuracy is a bit spotty as well, but he will dial up a gem every once in a while. His footwork needs some cleaning up, especially when he is forced off his spot. You could tell he trusted his offensive line less in 2022, which led to him dropping back too far or drifting out of clean pockets. His post snap progression is decent, but he will need to speed up his decision making at the next level. His anticipation on timing routes definitely needs to be faster as well. I do worry a little bit about his durability given how reckless he is with his body as a runner.

Synopsis

Levis dazzles with his arm talent and physicality, but he is still a bit raw given how much experience he had in college. His 2021 tape is much better than the 2022 tape. He definitely has a turnover problem that he will need to address. I do believe he will look more like the 2021 version we saw if he can get healthy and play in a better offensive scheme. There is a reason Kentucky brought back Liam Coen, who was the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams in 2022. It will take some time to see Levis reach his full potential. If he can stay healthy, I think he can be an above-average starter in the NFL.

Ideal scheme fit: RPO-heavy offense

Grade: 81.5

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What does the Alex Poythress injury mean for Kentucky?

Chris McGlynn Basketball, NCAAM

Thursday brought some terrible news to the number one ranked Wildcats. The team learned that junior forward Alex Poythress was lost for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Poythress sustained the injury without contact in practice on Thursday will shooting a lay-up. It will go down as a freak injury for Kentucky’s oldest starter. The question is can Kentucky shake off this injury and continue to play as the best team in the nation?

It will be a tough task but my initial thought is no. Poythress was a valuable cog in the system John Calipari runs which features two different lines of players that Coach Cal rotates in throughout the game. The two usually get mostly equal playing time. So when looking at Poythress’ numbers, it doesn’t look like Kentucky is missing much with him gone. The forward was only averaging 5.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. When you factor in that he was only playing about half of every game, those numbers start to count a bit more. That becomes a chunk of that platoon’s effectiveness. This blow to the starting line hurts more than the numbers will show.

So that would be that, except then you look at Kentucky’s remaining schedule. The Wildcats only have two games remaining against ranked opponents. Coach Cal’s squad plays a UNC team on Saturday that has been struggling recently to score points. Kentucky has one of the nation’s best defenses and has routinely blown out opponents who cannot find a way to keep pace. The country’s top team then will travel to fourth-ranked Louisville for the battle of Kentucky in late December. That could be the only game Kentucky loses all year in the regular season. After that, they begin SEC play and the SEC does not have a single ranked team outside of the Wildcats. The only other difficult games on this schedule would be in a week against a high-scoring UCLA team or in early February when Kentucky travels to Gainesville to take on Florida. The Gators have lost a couple of close games early in the year but will be tough to beat on its home court.

Looking at this, the loss of Poythress definitely hurts the Wildcats but I still think college basketball’s deepest team will be a top-four team come Selection Sunday in March, earning a number one seed in the NCAA tournament. I think this team is still the safest bet to make the Final Four. I don’t know if Kentucky is all but a lock to win a National Championship anymore. The games coming up in the next two weeks will let us know how well Kentucky can adjust to not having Poythress. I think this team has enough talent to make up for it. Now we just have to wait and see.