Tag: Will Levis

Giants draft a Daniel Jones replacement in Todd McShay’s 2023 mock

In the first 2023 NFL mock draft from ESPN’s Todd McShay, the New York Giants, picking in the top 10, select Daniel Jones’ replacement.

The 2022 NFL draft just ended but already we’re seeing an influx of 2023 mock drafts.

Our friends over at Draft Wire released their never-too-soon 2023 mock this week and in it, the New York Giants selected Kentucky quarterback Will Levis. Coincidentally, that’s exactly who ESPN’s Todd McShay has Big Blue taking in his 2023 mock that was released on Thursday.

8. New York Giants

Will Levis, QB, Kentucky

The Giants didn’t pick up Daniel Jones’ fifth-year option, which leaves the QB seat up for grabs next season. Levis needs to find more consistency, but he has a live arm and a big 6-foot-3, 232-pound frame. He has thrived in the quick game at Kentucky, with a lot of run-pass options and screen-type stuff, but there are some Josh Allen-like traits here for new Giants coach Brian Daboll. Oh, and Levis connected with receiver Wan’Dale Robinson — whom the Giants drafted in Round 2 this year — 104 times last season.

The Giants are, of course, publicly committed to Daniel Jones at the moment, but that will change if he doesn’t perform well in 2022. And until he does, all early mocks will likely have the Giants targeting a quarterback.

That’s the easy assumption. But what if DJ does play well? Who do the Giants then target in that scenario? Those are the kind of mock drafts fans would love to see this early on because recycling quarterbacks in the top 10 is boring.

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Giants land a new QB in Draft Wire’s never-too-early 2023 mock

In Draft Wire’s never-too-early 2023 mock, the New York Giants take a quarterback with their top-10 pick.

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Is it too early to talk about the 2023 NFL draft? No, not when you’re a rebuilding team such as the New York Giants.

In Draft Wire’s latest 2023 mock from analyst Luke Easterling, the Giants will be drafting in the top 10 again next year and this time they will be taking a quarterback.

6. New York Giants | Kentucky QB Will Levis

The Giants didn’t pick up Daniel Jones’ fifth-year option, so if they end up with a top-10 pick next year, he’s clearly not the answer. Levis has the talent to rise up the draft board with a strong 2023 campaign.

Jones is in a make-or-break situation this season and it looks like Easterling doesn’t believe Jones will make the necessary progress for the Giants to retain him.

Levis, a solid 6-foot-3 and 232 pounds, transferred from Penn State to Kentucky in 2020 and started all 13 games last year for the Wildcats, completing 233 of 353 passes for 2,827 yards with 24 touchdown passes. He was also a threat on the ground, running for 376 yards and nine touchdowns on 107 attempts.

The Giants seem to be on a treadmill to nowhere but could be on the verge of ending that run. They need to either embrace Jones or get past him. If they do move on, Levis could be their guy.

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Predicting each SEC starting quarterback for 2022

Who will be Auburn’s starting quarterback in 2022? Here is a projection:

The SEC is going to be loaded at quarterback in 2022.

While only half of the conference’s starters from 2021 will be returning for next season, there will be several names that have also transferred in that will be interesting to watch (Spencer Rattler to South Carolina, Zach Calzada to Auburn, Jack Miller to Florida, and whoever eventually transfers to Ole Miss).

I’m looking forward to the progression from the signal-callers that started this past season, however. 2021 was a year starved of elite quarterback play across the college football landscape. Watching some of the conference’s experienced QB’s continue to improve will be fun to see.

With all of that being said, here is every SEC team’s projected starting quarterback for the 2022 season.

Former Penn State QB Will Levis was in awe of Pitt QB Kenny Pickett’s signature fake slide

What did former Penn State QB Will Levis have to say about Pitt QB Kenny Pickett’s fake slide in the ACC Championship Game?

Penn State fans may have had a difficult time coming to grips with so many developments during the course of the 2021 season. A season of close losses in almost every meaningful game was compounded with seeing Penn State’s best backup transfer to Kentucky in a year that saw Michigan win the Big Ten and the Pitt Panthers win the ACC with a quarterback who has been named a Heisman Trophy finalist. And to bring things full circle, that backup QB-turned Kentucky starter Will Levis heaped some praise on Pitt’s Heisman hopeful, Kenny Pickett.

During the ACC Championship Game last weekend, Pitt’s Pickett made one of the best running plays you may ever see by a quarterback when he managed to fake out the Wake Forest defense with a fake slide on the move. It was a play you pretty much have to see to believe, so if you did miss it, you should check it out before continuing…

The play immediately led to conversations and debate son whether or not a quarterback should be allowed to deke his opponent in that manner, with some suggesting it creates a competitive disadvantage if the defense is voluntarily giving up on the play believing the quarterback is giving himself up. We’ll let the NCAA rules committee evaluate that one at the appropriate time, but that hasn’t stopped former Penn State quarterback Will Levis from chiming in on the subject.

But don’t count on seeing Levis try to emulate Pickett’s new signature move any time soon.

Levis went on to suggest, once again in a joking manner, that he does want to see the play banned from college football.

Levis and Kentucky will be taking on Iowa in this year’s Citrus Bowl on January 1, 2022. Penn State will face Arkansas in the Outback Bowl, and will do so as a slight favorite.

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Five things to know: LSU vs Kentucky

Here’s five things to know about Kentucky.

Kentucky is riding a hot streak into their home matchup with LSU on Saturday.

The Wildcats are currently undefeated and are 2-0 in SEC play. The team hasn’t been explosive on the stat sheet, but Kentucky continues to find ways to win. They defeated Florida in Lexington for the first time in 35 years this past weekend.

The offense, as average as it may be, has found some type of rhythm. The defense hasn’t been elite but it’s come close as an overall unit. The ‘Cats are a gritty team that has managed to continue to survive. They’re looking to reach bowl eligibility this weekend.

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Here are five things to know about LSU’s upcoming opponent, the Kentucky Wildcats.

LSU vs Kentucky: Quarterback tale of the tape

A look at Max Johnson vs Will Levis in this week’s QB Tale of the Tape.

After a demoralizing loss to Auburn on Saturday night in Death Valley, we’re onto Lexington with an SEC cross-divisional matchup with Kentucky. These teams haven’t played each other since the 2014 season. LSU 41-3 in Death Valley. In their last two matchups, the Tigers have won by a combined 76-10 margin. This marks the first LSU trip to Lexington since 2007, a loss to the Wildcats.

These are your typical LSU Tigers and definitely not your typical Kentucky Wildcats. Head coach Mark Stoops has his defense playing at a very high level. They look more like the LSU Tigers than the Tigers do. They run the football and play good defense. Kentucky could be in line for a letdown game after knocking off Florida in Lexington for the first time since 1986.

The two teams feature two quarterbacks who play a different style. Levis is more of a game manager, who throws if the situation calls upon it but they like to run the ball. Johnson is more of the gunslinger, who throws the ball for an average of 36.2 times a game. Levis has an average of 23.6 pass attempts per game.

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Next, we compare the numbers

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Kentucky QB Will Levis apparently takes his coffee with mayonnaise

Wait, what…

Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Will Levis has some interesting eating habits, and when he shares them with the world, he tends to go viral.

Before the college football season started, Levis went viral for the unique way he eats bananas. He eats the whole unpeeled and particularly brown banana, and it blew fans’ minds.

Well, Levis — who has a 65.3 completion percentage and a 7-5 touchdown-interception ratio — is turning heads again for how he apparently takes his coffee. Not with sugar, cream, milk or some milk substitute. No.

According to the latest video he posted on his TikTok account — one with nearly 250,000 views at the time of this post — the Wildcats quarterback drinks his coffee with… mayonnaise.

Now, this could be a joke, or perhaps it’s a gimmick ahead of Kentucky’s game against No. 10 Florida on Saturday or maybe it’s purely for the excellent, gross #content.

@w.lev

I have a very sophisticated pallet. @omgiaaa #fyp #TakeTheDayOffChallenge #BenefitOfBrows

♬ original sound – Will Levis

In the video’s caption, he wrote:

“I have a very sophisticated pallet.”

It’s entirely possible Levis usually takes his coffee in a more traditional fashion, but it appears that at least once, he drank it with mayonnaise. And…

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The way Kentucky QB Will Levis eats a banana is b-a-n-a-n-a-s

What?!

I don’t know if this is how Will Levis eats a banana regularly.

But if the Kentucky quarterback usually refuses to peel the fruit and eats the whole thing, exterior with interior, then … well, that’s just unnatural.

That said, I’m about to educate you! According to WebMD, “Their thick, fibrous peels, however, are a less popular source of nutrition, at least in Western countries. But contrary to what many people believe, banana peels are not only safe to eat, they also offer a number of health benefits.”

Huh! The more you know, I guess! So: here’s Levis on a video that’s being shared everywhere.

If he’s doing it for clicks, he did his job. But if he’s trying to teach us about the benefits of eating the peel — a side note, I’ve read some stuff that says to wash the fruit first — job well done.

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Former Penn State QB wins starting job at SEC school

Former Penn State QB Will Levis has been named the starting quarterback at Kentucky for the 2021 season

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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).

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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