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Will Levis entered the transfer portal this offseason looking for an opportunity to find a more prominent role in an offense in 2021. He found it with the Kentucky Wildcats. On Sunday, Kentucky named Levis its starting quarterback for the 2021 college football season.
Levis apparently gelled very quickly in his new surroundings in Lexington this summer. Once he decided to transfer to Kentucky, it was widely believed he would have an excellent chance to be named the starting quarterback for the Wildcats. And now, he has. Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops confirmed the decision on Sunday, noting how efficient the offense has been running with Levis at the helm.
“I’m so incredibly blessed to be given this amazing opportunity,” Levis said in a message posted on his Twitter account on Sunday. “Words can’t describe how excited I am to lead this group of guys!”
Levis will look to provide much-needed juice to the Kentucky offense. The Wildcats were last in the SEC in passing offense in 2020 with an average of 121.5 passing yards per game (only one other SEC school averaged fewer than 200 passing yards per game, South Carolina). Kentucky also had just seven passing touchdowns in 11 games, once again the fewest in the conference (for the sake of comparison, Alabama had 42 touchdown passes, Florida had 46).
QB1: @will_levis
"He's been extremely efficient running the offense … His first throw in the stadium was a 65-yard TD strike. He has a lot of talent … he won the job."
đź—Ł @UKCoachStoops pic.twitter.com/Sjy6t44aaJ— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) August 15, 2021
Levis was the primary backup to Sean Clifford at Penn State the past two seasons, although Levis had his moments to provide something to the offense. Last season, Levis started one game in place of a struggling Clifford, although Clifford ended up replacing Levis as the game unfolded. Levis completed 60.0% of his pass attempts in 2020 for 421 yards and a touchdown. Levis was also used as a running option for the offense. He accumulated 260 rushing yards and three touchdowns last fall.
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