Will Levis
| Kentucky Wildcats – No. 7 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Class |  |
| Major | Finance |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | June 27, 1999 Newton, Massachusetts |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 232 lb (105 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| Bowl games | |
| High school | Xavier (Middletown, Connecticut) |
Will Levis is an American football quarterback for the Kentucky Wildcats. He previously played for the Penn State Nittany Lions before transferring to Kentucky in 2021.
High school career
Levis was born on June 27, 1999, in Newton, Massachusetts, later attending Xavier High School in Middletown, Connecticut.[1][2] He set school records as a senior for passing touchdowns with 27 and passing yards with 2,793. He committed to Penn State to play college football.[3]
College career
Levis attended Penn State from 2018 to 2020. After redshirting his first year, he spent the next two as Sean Clifford's backup. He made his first career start against Rutgers in 2019, completing eight of 14 passes for 81 yards with one touchdown and one interception with 108 rushing yards.[4][5][6] Overall at Penn State, he completed 61 of 102 passes for 644 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 473 yards and six touchdowns.
Levis transferred to the University of Kentucky in 2021,[7] after having graduated that May with a bachelor's degree in finance from Penn State's Smeal College of Business.[1] He was named the starter to open the season and in his first start threw for 367 yards and four touchdowns.[8][9][10] Levis started all 13 games for Kentucky, completing 233 of 353 passes for 2,827 yards and 24 touchdown passes while running for 376 yards and 9 touchdowns on 107 rushes. Levis led the team to a victory over No. 15 Iowa in the 2022 Citrus Bowl.
Statistics
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | ||
| Penn State Nittany Lions | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Redshirt 
| |||||||||||||||
| 2019 | 6 | 1 | 1−0 | 28 | 47 | 59.6 | 223 | 4.7 | 2 | 2 | 105.0 | 51 | 213 | 4.2 | 3 | |
| 2020 | 8 | 1 | 0−1 | 33 | 55 | 60.0 | 421 | 7.7 | 1 | 0 | 130.3 | 82 | 260 | 3.2 | 3 | |
| Kentucky Wildcats | ||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 13 | 13 | 10−3 | 233 | 353 | 66.0 | 2,826 | 8.0 | 24 | 13 | 148.3 | 107 | 376 | 3.5 | 9 | |
| 2022 | 11 | 11 | 7−4 | 185 | 283 | 65.4 | 2,406 | 8.5 | 19 | 10 | 151.9 | 72 | -107 | -1.5 | 2 | |
| Career[11] | 38 | 26 | 17−7 | 479 | 738 | 64.9 | 5,876 | 8.0 | 46 | 25 | 145.6 | 312 | 742 | 2.4 | 17 | |
Personal life
His father Mike played football at Denison University, an NCAA Division III school in Ohio, while his mother, Beth Kelley, was a two-time All-American soccer player at Yale. An uncle played football at Yale, and his maternal great-grandfather Alva Kelley was an All-American football player at Cornell University and later a head coach for several college teams. Levis is currently pursuing a master's degree in finance from Kentucky's Gatton College of Business and Economics.[1]
He has been cited as having quirky food habits, specifically drinking coffee with mayonnaise and eating unpeeled bananas.[12]
References
- ^ a b c "Will Levis". Kentucky Wildcats. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
- ^ Burns, Joe. "Nothing Normal About Xavier QB Will Levis". courant.com.
- ^ "Three-star QB Will Levis commits to Penn State". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ "First-team reps benefitting Penn State QB Will Levis ahead of Saturday". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ Juliano, Joe. "Penn State overcomes lethargic start, defeats Rutgers, 27-6, and awaits bowl destination". www.inquirer.com.
- ^ "Penn State's Will Levis, thrust into a starting role vs. Rutgers, now knows the painful price the Lions' QB must pay". pennlive. December 1, 2019.
- ^ Former Penn State football QB Will Levis announces he will transfer to Kentucky
- ^ "UK names Penn State transfer Levis starting QB". ESPN.com. August 15, 2021.
- ^ After a summer of hype, Will Levis leaves Kentucky football fans wanting more
- ^ Hale, Jon. "How Will Levis' Kentucky football debut compares to best QB performances of Stoops era". The Courier-Journal.
- ^ "Will Levis College Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ^ Thamel, Pete (October 10, 2021). "Welcome to college football's new era: Embrace the madness". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved October 11, 2021.