Cowturd on Will Levis
- Thread starter rick64
- Start date
I'll never understand the Cowherd dislike on this board. He is by far one of the best in the business.
Smart, articulate, great at explaining things, well connected/sourced so rarely is he just blowing hot air.
He'll criticize when it's warranted but the next day if some praise is worthy, he gives credit where credit is due.
That is an absolutely fantastic take, and correct. Well thought out, well researched, and explained so the normal fan can understand.
A lot of talking heads and sports folks will talk about the other QBs...the big brand name Bama kid with his big podcast part point guard part QB extraordinaire, and Ohio State kid who's got a national men's wear commercial...and the project but absolute freakish athlete...Cam Newton, Lamar, Michael Vick all in one Florida kid...
Cowherd says nah...I'm looking at the kid with Ivy league genes, 4.0 finance, and big arm who wasn't surrounded by ohio state/bama OL and skill positions.
Smart, articulate, great at explaining things, well connected/sourced so rarely is he just blowing hot air.
He'll criticize when it's warranted but the next day if some praise is worthy, he gives credit where credit is due.
That is an absolutely fantastic take, and correct. Well thought out, well researched, and explained so the normal fan can understand.
A lot of talking heads and sports folks will talk about the other QBs...the big brand name Bama kid with his big podcast part point guard part QB extraordinaire, and Ohio State kid who's got a national men's wear commercial...and the project but absolute freakish athlete...Cam Newton, Lamar, Michael Vick all in one Florida kid...
Cowherd says nah...I'm looking at the kid with Ivy league genes, 4.0 finance, and big arm who wasn't surrounded by ohio state/bama OL and skill positions.
Levis is a mystery to me....I thought he played pretty mediocre this year. Ole Miss he had so many chances to win vs. a good but not great team...and he blew it to be fair.
1. Levis is talented...not going to argue that.
2. His parents/grandparents went to Yale, Cornell, etc...why is that a credit to him for intelligence? That feels like a typical Cowherd pontification that has no meaning. I didn't think Levis played a very intelligent game under Scang...but under Coen...I thought in Iowa game, UGA game, Tennessee game, etc... he played a very high IQ football.
3. Levis is a tough kid as well. He takes a ton of hits and delivers his own. Rallies the UK team as a leader which woiuld have been easy to mail it in (I don't really get into the bowl game stuff)
3. The hardest issue to gauge is he plays at UK with decent but not elite talent...especially the Oline. Whereas guys like Young/Stroud have NFL guys all around them. But in NFL that playing field levels a ton...especially at QB. So will that lessen the Young/Strouds of the world (i.e. Tua is OK, Mac Jones...ok, Dwayne Haskins bust, JT Barrett, Cordele Jones, Justin Fields..too early).
I hope he really hits and plays well. The comparison to Levis to Eli Manning and Phillip Rivers is an interesting one...but I'd argue it's a guess at best.
1. Levis is talented...not going to argue that.
2. His parents/grandparents went to Yale, Cornell, etc...why is that a credit to him for intelligence? That feels like a typical Cowherd pontification that has no meaning. I didn't think Levis played a very intelligent game under Scang...but under Coen...I thought in Iowa game, UGA game, Tennessee game, etc... he played a very high IQ football.
3. Levis is a tough kid as well. He takes a ton of hits and delivers his own. Rallies the UK team as a leader which woiuld have been easy to mail it in (I don't really get into the bowl game stuff)
3. The hardest issue to gauge is he plays at UK with decent but not elite talent...especially the Oline. Whereas guys like Young/Stroud have NFL guys all around them. But in NFL that playing field levels a ton...especially at QB. So will that lessen the Young/Strouds of the world (i.e. Tua is OK, Mac Jones...ok, Dwayne Haskins bust, JT Barrett, Cordele Jones, Justin Fields..too early).
I hope he really hits and plays well. The comparison to Levis to Eli Manning and Phillip Rivers is an interesting one...but I'd argue it's a guess at best.
Glad will is getting more positive talk but let's face it - some of these points are ridiculous. Some of these experts make it sound like he was on a team of grade schoolers going up against the monstars every week.
Definitely agree with the above point about his intelligence. He's obviously a smart guy from a smart family, but we know for a fact that hasn't yet translated to the field.
His arm deservedly gets tons of attention but I'm surprised his athleticism almost never gets mentioned. Dude is a specimen and is a really good athlete. Tough as nails. His leadership and charisma is vastly understated too.
He checks tons of boxes without having to downplay his teammates
Definitely agree with the above point about his intelligence. He's obviously a smart guy from a smart family, but we know for a fact that hasn't yet translated to the field.
His arm deservedly gets tons of attention but I'm surprised his athleticism almost never gets mentioned. Dude is a specimen and is a really good athlete. Tough as nails. His leadership and charisma is vastly understated too.
He checks tons of boxes without having to downplay his teammates
Agreed, he is outstanding. He also seems to know his own limitations. He follows college football closely. He doesn't talk about it as much as he does the NFL but he does cover it.
College basketball, OTOH, he totally ignores (as does most of the country)
You nailed it this is the most Cowherd point ever. Totally doesn’t matter but he’s got to pretend it does to fill three hours of air time.
I’m not overly high on Levis as a prospect but I’m not too low on him either. Excited to see how he does. Only QB prospect I’m low on is Richardson
I can't agree more on your Anthony Richardson point...I keep hearing his huge potential and I'm like what in the world is a scout seeing? He was awful in so many games last year...and I get UF doesn't have amazing talent now....but he was downright the lowest IQ football QB I saw in SEC last year. What he did to deserve a draft pick....I 'll never see it based on last year.
Most NFL draft commentary ive heard has so far been fair to Levis. They bring up he was hampered in 2022 by bad O line, young recievers, foot injury after Ole Miss,and a bad coordinator.
Really hoping he lights it up at the combine this week!
Really hoping he lights it up at the combine this week!
He’s been the most scrutinized QB prospect out of the entire field. Garbage Anthony Richardson is getting less criticism than Will. It’s ridiculous.
I am cheering hard for our QB, wouldn’t mind one bit if he fell to my Panthers at 9. I doubt he makes it that far, but I would love the chance to continue to watch him
I am cheering hard for our QB, wouldn’t mind one bit if he fell to my Panthers at 9. I doubt he makes it that far, but I would love the chance to continue to watch him
Levis was a better prospect after '21, but the hype train didn't pull until after the '22 draft.
I agree with Cowherd. Levis checks all the boxes. I don’t think he will ever become a big time quarterback. I’m glad he chose UK but in the past year, his stock dropped. Just the truth. I do wish Will the best though. I will always love the tattoo on that arm, I believe what it says.
He checks every physical skill box, but he barely scratches the mental side. He doesn't pre read the defenses very well, holds the ball too long and doesn't protect the ball. In the NFL, turnovers will end a career.
Uhhh, maybe when combined with his 4.0 Finance degree, half the family with Ivy League backgrounds makes him look kind of smart?
Sure, if half his family was from Yale, but he carried a 2.1 GPA at North Carolina, walked the campus with snot hanging from his chin, and never learned to tie his shoes, the family connections might be a tad overblown.
Cowherd just convinced me Levis is Top 5 material.
I agree. I was one of, if not the first, poster on the board to point out serious concerns about his lack of recognition both pre and post snap.
The OL took a lot of heat for several plays where he had ample time to get rid of the ball. Ample doesn't always mean 3 seconds, depending on the blitz. Oh and teams blitzed almost every throwing situation because they knew he couldn't handle it.
But back to the original point - he checks plenty enough boxes that proponents don't need to talk down his teammates in order to talk him up
I agree with a lot of his points but his constant harping on not having another offensive weapon on his team that was 1st or 2nd team All-SEC. Which discounts (or just completely forgets about) his first year here with Wandale as a WR. Wandale was a great player and Levis really relied on him in the passing game, some would argue even too heavily as he always seemed so locked in on Wandale that he forgot about his 2nd or 3rd reads.
Agree with him on all the boxes checked, but if he's quoting his career numbers at UK and not just last year, he needs to give credit where it's due. He DID have Wandale as a dynamic weapon at WR one of those years.
Agree with him on all the boxes checked, but if he's quoting his career numbers at UK and not just last year, he needs to give credit where it's due. He DID have Wandale as a dynamic weapon at WR one of those years.
I thought there was actually some good points and discussion in this thread ... until this post.
Orlavsky had some similar comments about his awful surrounding cast. I don't understand. You can correctly talk up Levis' strong points without acting like he was playing with grade schoolers.
As an aside, I always chuckle at the notion orlavsky is an expert at anything QB related. Dude was a historically putrid QB.
As an aside, I always chuckle at the notion orlavsky is an expert at anything QB related. Dude was a historically putrid QB.
Levis is the gunslinger type and is by far the best on the mic with the media. He is #1. Star written all over him.
But for me what separates him is his ability to run with the ball. Quarterbacks that can run the ball a little bit like rental car Hertz and Josh Allen..... That's what's everybody wants
But for me what separates him is his ability to run with the ball. Quarterbacks that can run the ball a little bit like rental car Hertz and Josh Allen..... That's what's everybody wants
Last edited:
Compared to Young & Stroud it is fair to say Levis had awful surrounding casts
Orlovsky was a 4 year starter in college, played 10-11 seasons in the NFL , and several teams have tried to get him to be their QB coach. I'd say he knows a little bit. Also his career passer rating is better that Tim Couch's lol. If couch made those comments you wouldn't say a word
Playing in the NFL means he's an incredible player vs the general population. However graded vs his NFL peers, he was awful. He held a clip board 99% of the time and the times he was on the field he was God awful including the infamous clip where he runs three yards out of the back of the endzone.
He's a well spoken talking head. Nothing more. Doesn't mean he is wrong all the time. Definitely doesn't mean he's right all the time. He's d@mn sure wrong here.
In this instance, he's wrong about Levis having an awful supporting cast. Not true at all. Much of the offensive struggle was due to Levis being slow to process info. Physically he's incredible. Mentally he has a long way to go.
Uh huh
How many offensive teammates were drafted in 2022 after the 2021 season?
How many offensive teammates from 2022 season will be drafted in 2 months?
How many were All-SEC?
Now ask yourself how many of Bryce Young & CJ Stroud's teammates were drafted in 2022, and will be drafted in 2023. How many were all conference, if not All Americans.
Facts speak for themselves on Levis supporting cast quality
That's a strawman. Noone is arguing who has the better cast. That's very clear but also a completely different argument altogether.
But when analysts say his surrounding cast was awful, it just isn't true. When he says receivers were never open, it just isn't true. When they say the OL was the worst in division 1 football, it just isn't true (they struggled for sure but Levis himself caused many of his sacks). They never mention the lack of run game, but it's implied since it's part of the supporting cast but that isn't true either.
Levis checks all kinds of boxes. There are plenty of ways of saying he has some things to work on (which orlavsky also says) without putting down his teammates, especially since they were way better than some ragtag group of scrubs
Lol all his weapons were freshmen besides Robinson who was hurt . That's not a good supporting cast. If Brown, Key, Dingle, Kattus were juniors or seniors it's a different story. Orlovsky isn't the only one who has stated this.
So. Were they never open? I distinctly recall brown cooking Ringo (probably first rounder) all day vs uga. Wandale was certainly not awful.
His jr year he played with the most prolific wr in school history. Both years the second most prolific RB in school history.
Want to say they're young? Fine. But there was someone open every play. Plenty of times Levis would make a bad read and hold the ball till he was sacked. That's on him. Wrs were open, ol was giving him enough time, he was just missing reads over and over.
Physically he's as good as it gets. No need to cover his warts with shots at other players calling them awful
Sorry Orlovsky has you butt hurt, but still his supporting cast was green and at times stunk. Not counting Rodriguez as he was pretty absent in the passing game
This past year he has a point, but Cowherd did say multiple times that Levis didn’t have a 1st or 2nd team All-SEC offensive teammate, while quoting his career numbers at UK. Which simply isn’t true. Wandale was 2nd Team All-SEC.
I'm not butthurt at all. It just shows the ignorance of some talking heads because they think it's the same ole Kentucky with no talent.