Helping Kentucky to a 10-win season in his first as a Wildcat in 2021, Will Levis passed for 3,028 yards and 24 touchdowns – both top 10 single-season marks in program history. In his performance, Levis displayed that he has the arm, size, toughness, intelligence, and enough athletic ability to play in the NFL, but was relatively unknown nationally.
Starting this past Spring, the hype started to grow around Levis as he started to be seen as a top quarterback prospect, even the top prospect in some cases. Pair that with the historic expectations that Kentucky football had in the preseason, and Levis set out on a mission to be the No. 1 pick.
With the Wildcats finishing the regular season with the worst offense in the SEC and an underwhelming 7-5 record, the national college football media and public opinion have dialed back on the senior quarterback. Has the NFL?
Not according to T.J. McCreight, who has spent 30 years in the NFL as a regional and national scout, director of pro personnel, and personnel executive for four different organizations.
McCreight said that if he was in charge of an NFL team that needed a quarterback, his top choice would be Levis, and he is not alone in that thought.
With four NFL scouts that McCreight trusts, he performed an impromptu poll, and three of them agreed with his thinking that Levis is the best quarterback in the draft.
One NFC scout said, “This [season] is an audition for him to go to a poor NFL team. He proved he can take a beating and keep getting up.” Another NFC scout added, “It is a miracle that he keeps playing every week after all of the hits he takes. He is more banged up than people think — much more.”
Looking at his competition, CJ Stroud (Ohio State) and Bryce Young (Alabama), they experience very little conflict/stress in a game given the teams that they play for. McCreight argues, with Levis playing for Kentucky, he doesn’t have as much talent around him to cover for his weaknesses.
While the national media isn’t as high on Levis as they once were, it sounds like the NFL Draft decision-makers are, as they look back at last season and the toughness he has shown this season.
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