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If you’ve been paying attention over the past year, you might be surprised by a name that snuck into 2023 NFL drafts way too early: Kentucky quarterback Will Levis.

He doesn’t have the production of QB peers C.J. Stroud or Bryce Young, but the hype has grown during the season anyway. To find the main source of that excitement, you first have to go back to Kentucky’s pro day in March, where former draft-eligible Wildcats worked out for NFL scouts in preparation for the 2022 draft. Thanks to a rule change that allowed undrafted players to work for scouts as well (Young and Stroud did the same thing at their high school pro days), Levis made a last-minute throw with a teammate.

“I talked to [new offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello] and he said, ‘I know what these guys want to see, and I’m going to put together a scenario with 16 types of throws that they’re looking for, and we’re going to have [DeMarcus Harris] out there catching for you, and it’s going to be great.” I threw the ball well, spun it, and it was cool to be in that environment and have all those eyes on you. I felt comfortable out there and that was cool.”

Levis threw 24 touchdown passes a season ago and had 13 interceptions.

One NFL scout told Sports Illustrated that he hadn’t watched Levis much at all before that, but he turned the tape on this offseason after another scout told him how Levis looked at pro day. But when you think about how Kentucky is trying to turn its program around, there’s more to consider than just practice.

Kentucky might not be the first team that comes to mind when you list college football’s most intriguing offensive moves, but it’s trying to build on something that’s in vogue at the NFL level. “Pro offense” has had different definitions over the years, but right now it’s a ground game based on an out-of-zone run scheme using bootlegs and plays to set up the vertical passing game — something Kentucky doesn’t have. had plenty over the past few seasons.

Zone blocking is far from a foreign concept in college football. It’s the partial namesake of a trend that has dominated the sport for the past decade: the zone read. Offensive players have an area of ​​the defensive front they are responsible for and block those in their area. If they are “exposed”, they are double-teamed with the lineman next to them and try to get to the second level to match up with the linebacker. In the late 1990s, Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan and his offensive line coach Alex Gibbs popularized the blocking scheme. It was the foundation that allowed non-professional passers like the Lions’ Jared Goff and the Titans’ Ryan Tannehill to make deep playoff runs, thanks to action passes that you can build on top of a solid rushing foundation.

NFL coaches currently at the forefront of continuing the trend are Shanahan’s son Kyle of San Francisco and Rams coach Sean McVay. (Both worked for Mike in Washington.) But about 25% of NFL offenses are tied to the Shanahan coaching tree, and that number is likely to grow over the next few years. Which brings us back to Kentucky.

Liam Coen was brought to Lexington as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach heading into the 2021 season to develop Levis and start running that type of offense. In the ’21 game, the Cats were all about the outside zone, but they weren’t major in it because of their personnel, opting to run a lot more between the tackles than outside of them. Prior to that, Coen spent three seasons with McVay in Los Angeles as an assistant receivers coach and then as an assistant quarterbacks coach. He has since returned to the Rams to become their offensive coordinator, but the pro game he began building will continue under Scangarello, who comes from San Francisco (where he was the 49ers’ quarterbacks coach) and brings with him a coach offensive line Zach Yenser .

“I was one of the first to know that Liam was leaving,” says Levis. “Coach Coen and Stoops and I sat down for a couple of hours to kind of talk about it. And from that point on, [Stoops] made it very clear to me that I was going to be a big part of the process of choosing a new offensive coordinator. I was there at interviews with all the coaches we talked to, which was great. We had really good candidates. When we interviewed Coach Scangs, we knew right away that he was the guy. We were lucky that he fell into our laps. But having coach [Stoops] include me in that process was really special.”

Stoops says he was essentially uninvolved in the Coen hire, but this time was different. In more ways than just on the court, Kentucky took a professional approach. Veteran quarterbacks in the pros can certainly be consulted on who they want to pair with in a coordinator-QB tandem. A similar process took place in Lexington.

“I think it was important with a guy like Will because personality is important,” Stoops says. “Liam was an infectious personality, but he was also extremely knowledgeable and the system suited us. I wanted Will to sit and just listen and just give me his opinion when we talked about it. I thought it was really important. I believe he is a franchise quarterback in the NFL. He’s definitely our franchise quarterback in Kentucky right now.”

If Scangarello (the fifth offensive coordinator Levis played with in his collegiate career between Penn State and Kentucky) can get Levis to succeed in this system, it will be a commercial for a program that can develop passers for the next level. For Levis, he would come into the NFL with two years of experience in a popular offensive system.

Levis began his career at Penn State before transferring to Kentucky.

Levis passes the eye test on the measurables: He’s 6’3″ and has plenty of arm strength — he finished fifth in the SEC in total passing yards, sixth in touchdown passes and second in rushing TDs in 2021. He’s shown flashes of brilliance in implementing the Rams’ passing concepts that Coen has been running, but he’s prone to turning the ball over (13 interceptions last year) and needs to improve his overall footwork and accuracy.He’ll also likely be asked to do more pass protection with veteran center Luke Fortner, who is now in the NFL Stoops admitted this is an area Kentucky needs to improve on, as Levis took more hits than they would have liked late last season.

Most early 2023 mock drafts have Levis in the first round, but he’s certainly not a finished product as a passer. Betting on him now is betting on the qualities he has — as one personnel evaluator told SI, “he’s got NFL tools right now, not NFL tape.”

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Levis will count on a combination of young receivers to replace Wan’Dale Robinson, a target on 40% of QB throws last year: Harris, who has the most receptions in a career (26) by a returner, Lexington freshman Dane Key , and transfer Tayvion Robinson. Robinson especially shined in the season opener, with six catches on a team-high eight targets for 136 yards. The cats, however, will have to smooth out the problems with falls.

Before Levis, pass protection issues hampered Kentucky in its season-opening win against Miami (Ohio). Levis was sacked four times, including three on third downs. Stoops says the coaching staff has a “good idea” where those issues are coming from, but they will need to improve quickly before facing Florida in week two. Kentucky used five first-time starters, and its Week 2 depth chart suggests there will be changes again as the new unit tries to gel. The O-line and receiver issues early in the season add up to another thing Kentucky will need to improve: explosive vertical passing, which it also lacked against the RedHawks.

Yenser said he’s trying to develop an eight-man O-line rotation, so depth will be a concern in addition to making sure the starters are fit. They will potentially pave the way for one of the conference’s top rushers, Chris Rodriguez Jr., who rushed for 1,379 yards last year. Rodriguez, however, pleaded guilty to a DUI charge in July and is serving a suspension from which his return remains unclear. Overall, the Wildcats’ RB depth is extremely thin for the Kavosiey Smoke.

Despite all the pieces moving around him, Levis showed some things in Week 1 that put him on the radar of NFL decision-makers — including the way he reads concepts and uses arm strength to return to throws over the middle of the field and hit them accurately. If he can continue to dominate this offense at this level, he will soon be tasked with one at the next level.

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Is Will Levis staying at UK?

Kentucky quarterback Will Levis has announced his plans to return to Kentucky for the 2022 season instead of turning pro. To see also : CBS Sports: Bills’ James Cook is top five rookie RB. He used an epic shot from the Terminator movie to simply announce, “I’ll be back.”

Will Levis turn pro? And in Lexington, he finally emerged as a legitimate draft prospect. Levis only carried 102 career attempts into the 2021 season, but picked things up quickly. A team captain his freshman year at Kentucky, Levis had 2,826 yards, 24 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 13 starts.

Will Levis return?

Kentucky running back Will Levis will officially return for his senior season in 2022. This may interest you : MBB will face Ohio State in NYC in the CBS Sports Classic. After admitting earlier this month that he was leaning toward going back to school, Levis made it official on Monday, tweeting his final decision with the famous Terminator clip.

How many years of eligibility does Will Levis have?

Will Levis, with 2 years of eligibility remaining, discusses his future at Kentucky.

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Where did Will Levis go?

After three seasons at Penn State, Will Levis decided it was time to explore other opportunities. After the 2020 season, the redshirt sophomore entered his name on the NCAA transfer portal to find a new home.

Did Will Levis go to Penn State? Penn State’s use of Levis in his final season was confusing, which makes it understandable that he left. As Levis told me upon his transfer, “I don’t want to be known as the guy who goes in, puts his head down and runs the ball.†He left Penn State with 133 rushing attempts and 102 passing attempts.

How many years of eligibility does will Levis have left?

Levis has up to three years of eligibility to enroll in college.

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