Breaking Down Kentucky QB Will Levis

There are times when Will Levis reminds me of Matthew Stafford; a tough quarterback with a strong arm and the moxie to make tight-window throws. Then, there are times when he reminds me of Kyle Boller; stiff, deliberate, and inaccurate.

Which version will the team that drafts him get? That’s anyone’s guess. The bottom line on Levis is that he’s a talented thrower without much precision or nuance to his game. He’ll be a project, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a successful one.

Throwing Ability

There are two sides of the coin for every area of Levis’ game. And that’s how I’m going to work through this breakdown.

Let’s start with his arm. There’s a phrase from the movie Varsity Blues that comes to mind when I watch Levis play: He can “Fire that f-ing pigskin!”

That completion came on a 4th-and-24 against Tennessee. I’m sure the nearest defender hadn’t seen too many quarterbacks make that type of throw before, so he didn’t think to play closer to the targeted receiver at the first-down marker. Lesson learned.

Below is another example of what Levis is capable of. Watch how he slid left to avoid pressure before firing the ball back to the right 50 yards downfield while falling away from the throw:

The receiver dropped it, but that’s still an unbelievable pass.

A really strong arm isn’t the most important trait for a quarterback to have. But it’s not insignificant. It allows a quarterback to get away with certain things, like a lack of timing or late coverage recognition. It forces the defense to honor the deep ball, which can open up windows at the intermediate level. A strong-armed quarterback also has throws available to him that others don’t necessarily have access to.

Levis was able to make some great plays during his college career specifically because of his arm strength.

Poor Ball Placement

But now we need to talk about the more concerning side of his throwing ability. His accuracy and ball placement just aren’t consistent enough. This doesn’t mean he isn’t capable of making some really impressive and accurate throws, as you saw above. But too often, he misses the target.