Will Levis goes in-depth on relationship with Mark Stoops, belief in the locker room

On3 imageby:Sam Gillenwater06/24/22

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Kentucky football has gone through a complete transformation over the last decade. Since a pair of back to back 2-10 seasons, they’ve gone 57-43 in the eight seasons since. That includes a streak of six straight bowl game appearances with four straight wins in the postseason. Wildcat quarterback Will Levis is attending the Manning Passing Academy this weekend. At the event, he spoke about the program’s recent turn around.

Levis said the mood in their locker room has shifted from the new expectations. He and his teammates have a belief that they’re ready for even higher ambitions.

“We’re just improving from last year. We just, every day, we are working on getting in there and making sure that all of our actions and all of our thoughts are in line with our goal, which is to go to the SEC Championship and win that thing,” said Levis. “We came up short last year, and even though a 10-win season is not common for us, we have higher aspirations and we want to take this program to the next echelon. We’ve just been working our tails off making sure we’re in there doing as much as we can to get ready for camp.”

So much of their belief stems from head coach Mark Stoops. Stoops has been the change in the Wildcat program since his first season in 2013. He has brought the program from being a bottom-dweller to being ranked three of the last four seasons. Levis says he and his teammates belove him because, if nothing else, he demands their respect.

“He’s awesome. I don’t think a single person will say a bad thing about that man in that entire building, which is not common in a lot of places,” said Levis. “He just acts in a way that commands respect that isn’t over the top. He gives us the respect and the space we deserve, but he knows that when it’s time to crunch down and it’s time to get things going we’re all going to be at attention for him. We’ve just got to make sure we give him the respect that he gives us as well. The things that he’s done, the state of the program that he walked into there and where it is now, you can’t argue how good of a coach that is.”

After a second 10-win season in the last four years, Kentucky remains unsatisfied. The next step for Stoops and company is competing for one of the top spots in the SEC. That will earn them their ultimate goal of playing for the conference crown in Atlanta on December 3rd.