Kentucky is Flat Out Wasting Will Levis (BTI's Rants and Ramblings)

With all of the criticism this Kentucky football team will likely have to take after this season, the one that will forever stick in my craw will be how criminally underused Will Levis has been. Let’s even grant that Levis might be hurt and hence can not run the ball as much as he did last season. While I think that is both the truth and also was going to be the case this year, either way, his arm has always been his biggest strength. And yet, we have to see Levis throw the ball 10 yards or less on 90% of his throws (my unofficial guess, not an actual stat).

The reality is that Kentucky has not seen a quarterback with the raw skills of Levis since the late 90s. And it could be very possible we won’t see another for 25 years. And if that is the case, then we absolutely have seen his final year in Lexington be wasted. Tim Couch had far worse teams in his 2 years at the helm, but Hal Mumme maximized how much of Couch’s talent he could use in those 2 years. We are not getting that with Levis.

How do I know this? First, I have eyeballs that work and can see it week in and week out. But I also have the numbers to back me up.

Will Levis is still projected as a Top 10 NFL Draft pick next year. Let’s assume that is the case for the moment. In the past 5 NFL Drafts, a total of 12 quarterbacks have been taken in the Top 10. Trey Lance did not play his final season in college because of COVID. Now let’s look at how those other 11 have done in their final years, ranked by Passing Yards, Passing TDs, and Team Record:

Passing Yards
Joe Burrow (2020): 5,671
Baker Mayfield (2018): 4,627
Kyler Murray (2019): 4,361
Sam Darnold (2018): 4,143
Josh Rosen (2018): 3,756
Zach Wilson (2021): 3,692
Justin Herbert (2020): 3,471
Trevor Lawrence (2021): 3,156 (*only played in 10 games)
Tua Tagovailoa (2020): 2,840 (*injured after 9 games)
Daniel Jones (2019): 2,674
Will Levis (2023): 2,012
Josh Allen (2018): 1,812 (*missed 2 games to injury)

Passing TDs
Joe Burrow (2020): 60
Baker Mayfield: 43
Kyler Murray (2019): 42
Zach Wilson (2021): 33
Tua Tagovailoa (2020): 33 (*in 9 games)
Justin Herbert (2020): 32
Sam Darnold: 26
Josh Rosen: 26
Trevor Lawrence (2021): 24 (*in 10 games)
Daniel Jones (2019): 22
Josh Allen (2018): 16 (*in 11 games)
Will Levis (2023): 16

Record
Joe Burrow (2020): 15-0
Zach Wilson (2021): 11-1
Justin Herbert (2020): 12-2
Kyler Murray (2019): 12-2
Baker Mayfield (2018): 12-2
Sam Darnold (2018): 11-3
Trevor Lawrence (2021): 9-1
Tua Tagovailoa (2020): 8-1
Daniel Jones (2019): 8-5
Josh Allen (2018): 8-5
Josh Rosen (2018): 6-7
Will Levis (2023): 6-4

Barring a tremendous last 2-3 games, Levis will almost certainly finish with the 11th most passing yards, 11th most passing TDs, and 2nd worst record of all of the quarterbacks listed. The last stat can’t be entirely lumped onto Levis as the team just hasn’t been very good. But the first two stats are entirely based on how Kentucky has used Levis this season.

Quarterback is the most important position on the field and maybe the most important position in sports. And we have one of the most talented ones in this school’s history. Yet, we are running an offense that is handcuffing that talent. Can you imagine if we used Chris Rodriguez as a pass-catching running back? Can you imagine if we used a great pass-catching tight end like CJ Conrad as a blocker the majority of the time? Oh wait, we did do that one. Nonetheless, you have to adjust to the skills you have. And the UK offense just has not done that this year.

Everybody knows how frustrated this fanbase is with John Calipari right now. He simply refuses to adjust his game plans to the talent of his roster. I would argue Mark Stoops and Rich Scangarello are doing the exact same thing with Will Levis. And my concern is we will look back on the 2022 season and consider it one of the biggest wastes of talents in modern school history.