INDIANAPOLIS – “I have a cannon. I’m going to show it off.”
For the most confident quarterback in the 2023 draft class, deciding to throw in Indianapolis was a no-brainer. There are going to be four quarterbacks taken in the top 10 in the draft in April. None of them are even close to having zero question marks about them. None have more, however, than Kentucky’s Will Levis.
Throughout the entire season, it was thought that Alabama’s Bryce Young and Ohio State’s CJ Stroud were 1A and 1B at the quarterback position. However, that might not be the case. Will Levis’s physical attributes have pushed him up draft boards despite underwhelming production for Kentucky this year.
The Kentucky signal-caller still feels he has a lot to prove. He was open about the fact that last year’s coordinator change, going from Liam Coen to former Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello, may have changed some peoples’ opinions of him. Levis went from 376 rushing yards in 2021 to -107 this past season, in large part due to Scangarello’s offense relying less on the quarterback’s legs. Levis was also dealing with an injury, which helped limit his rushing production to less than zero.
Levis said he has been focusing a lot on Joe Burrow this offseason. From a purely stylistic sense, the comparisons are apt. Both Burrow and Levis aren’t necessarily rushing threats, but mobile enough within the pocket to be able to show off their massive arms. Levis has never been able to put up the production that Burrow has, and more than likely never will. Don’t tell him that though.
“Absolutely,” Levis said, when asked about whether or not he’s a Super Bowl caliber quarterback. “I want to be the greatest of all time. I think you’re crazy if you don’t think that way.”
His confidence in himself is absolutely off the charts. Levis believes he has one of the strongest arms to come out of the draft in recent memory, and he sees why he is being compared to Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
Levis has the unique viewpoint of being the only top quarterback at the combine this year to have played for multiple programs. Levis started his career in Happy Valley, backing up Sean Clifford at Penn State. It wasn’t until his third year of college football that he transferred to Kentucky. He refused to rank the Big 10 and the SEC when asked about it. He did say that playing in the SEC was important to him because it forced him to play against tougher competition. However, Levis was very open about how his Penn State experience helped him grow just not as a quarterback, but as a man.
“I learned that sometimes things don’t go your way, and you just gotta put your head down and keep working,” Levis said.
One of his former teammates was in a similar situation. Justin Shorter started his career at Penn State, where Will Levis backed up Sean Clifford. Levis eventually transferred to Kentucky, and Shorter to Florida, pitting them up against each other in the SEC East. It also paired Shorter up with Anthony Richardson, one of this draft class’s fastest risers.
Like Levis, Richardson has a lot of question marks. No one is doubting Richardson’s physical ability, and most here in Indianapolis expect his combine numbers to be otherworldly when the quarterbacks go through drills tomorrow. However, Richardson only threw for 17 touchdowns last year, taking him until week nine to average even one touchdown pass per game.
Shorter was quick to bring up Levis’s super strong arm during his media availability, but it was his Gators roommate Shorter called a freak athlete.
“[Richardson] had the strongest arm I’ve ever been around, so him being able to throw that deep ball to me helped out a lot,” Shorter said.
It seems as if scouts agree. There’s a lot of buzz around Indianapolis this week that Richardson could go way higher than most people were expecting, with some even thinking he has a chance to challenge Young and Stroud for the number one overall pick. While the general consensus is that it seems like a bit of a longshot that will actually happen, Richardson is turning heads.
Richardson was one of the most popular players at media availability today, saying that he enjoys the Cam Newton comparisons he has been getting. Richardson also doesn’t buy into the narrative that he is a project quarterback, saying that he “[doesn’t] even know what that means.”
While Shorter went out of his way to mention that Levis was an incredibly smart quarterback, it was Richardson who Shorter could not stop raving about, both physically and mentally.
“His film recognition and knowledge,” Shorter said of Richardson, when asked what made him such a smart quarterback. “The way he breaks up everything is special. I feel like I’m learning stuff from him while I’m in there.”
Shorter will work out tomorrow with both of his former quarterbacks throwing to him. While Young will not work out, both Levis and Richardson, along with Stroud, will all go through drills. While there has been a trend in recent years of some high profile quarterback prospects only choosing to work out at their pro days, the 2023 combine will have one of the most talented quarterback displays of any combine in recent memory.
Stroud wants to solidify himself besides Bryce Young. Richardson, who called himself “Cam Jackson” in high school, wants to prove he is like both of those former MVPs. Maybe they waffled at the decision, we don’t know.
But, obviously, Levis was always going to work out. He has a cannon. Of course he’s going to show it off.