Will Levis reacts to his ranking by Mel Kiper in 2023 NFL Draft class

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•09/14/22

What more can you say about the Kentucky starting quarterback? He eats over-ripe bananas without peeling them, he uses mayonnaise as his coffee creamer and now ESPN’s four most prominent NFL Draft analysts have Will Levis as a top-5 quarterback in the 2023 NFL Draft class.

Fresh off a win over then-No. 9 Florida in the Swamp, Levis joined ESPN’s SportsCenter on Wednesday to discuss his senior season.

And that NFL Draft talk crept up. Mel Kiper has him ranked as the No. 5 quarterback prospect in the class, while Todd McShay, Matt Miller and Jordan Reid all have him at No. 3.

“I know all of that is important to me in the long run, but right now I need to make sure I do what I can do to get this team ready to win games because I know as long as I take good care of things on a team level all the individual stuff will come with that afterwards,” Levis told host Kevin Negandhi.

The Kentucky gunslinger has done just that so far this season, guiding the Wildcats to wins over Miami (Ohio) and Florida.

He hasn’t been perfect, but he’s been good enough, going 34-of-56 passing for 505 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s also added a touchdown rushing.

All that with an offensive line that has gotten him hammered this season; he’s already taken seven sacks. Only 12 FBS teams have surrenedered more sacks than the Wildcats. Levis is taking it all in stride.

Winning priority for Will Levis, NFL Draft can wait

Say what you will about Levis’ numbers so far this season — and there’s a reasonable argument to be made they don’t necessarily support him being a top-5 NFL Draft prospect just yet — but his leadership seems undeniable at this point.

Sure, Levis hasn’t been the rushing threat so far this year that he was last year, with 14 carries for -30 yards (college stats factor in lost sack yardage). Yeah, his touchdown-to-interception ratio is nothing to write home about at 2:1.

Yet there are a lot of little things that analysts like ESPN’s Mel Kiper and others like about Levis.

Take Levis’ answer about a hot-button topic that surfaced in fall camp as one example: whether Kentucky is a football or basketball school. Or his answer above about not being focused on the NFL Draft just yet.

Those speak to a level of maturity and leadership that some quarterbacks simply don’t have.

It’s one of the major reasons the Wildcats have rallied around Levis despite him not being at his best so far in 2022. And when he is at his best, as a 6-foot-3, 232-pound quarterback that can take a beating, he’s quite good.

There is definite NFL Draft potential. None of it matters to the former Penn State transfer right now, though.

“I can’t really let it affect my mindset at all,” Levis said. “The same way I’m not going to let my critics who are being negative about me affect how I approach things, I can’t let people bringing me up make me feel comfortable and make me feel good about myself.”