Will Levis, Kentucky Wildcats Quarterback

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Major League Baseball trademarks used with permission. Will, first off, congratulations. Appreciate you coming back on.

Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. Well, I got to start you off with your defense. And you know when you go into Florida and get a victory, you need to go play a team game. How about what your guys' defense did? Because that was one heck of a performance.

Oh, yeah. They played their hearts out and they definitely deserve all the credit in the world for getting that win and making it happen for us. They really made those impact plays that switched the momentum in the game, I felt like. And I'm so happy for Coach White and our whole defensive staff and players for how they were able to go down there and play so well. Your head football coach Mark Stoops is now the all-time winningest coach at Kentucky with that win over the weekend on Saturday night.

Can you just describe to me what it's like to play for Coach Stoops? He's the best. I mean, he's someone who just makes you want to go out there and play your heart out for him. And he treats all of us like men. And he teaches us just how to handle ourselves as human beings.

But also as football players, obviously. And he preaches just a hard-mouthed kind of the right way to do it kind of football. And has all the trust in all of his coordinators to make sure that they're teaching their guys to a level that gets them ready to go come game days on Saturdays. And I mean, for him to handle the new offensive coordinator this year, new offensive line coach. And just a couple different things we've been doing on the offense that kind of just putting the full trust into the units and the coaches. We've been able to come along a lot since the spring.

And we still have a lot to improve on. But I think it all kind of lies in Coach Stoops and what he's been able to do to this program for how we've been able to do recently. When you were looking to leave Penn State, what was it about him initially that made you say, okay, I could go trust my college football future with Coach Stoops? I think it was just how straight up he was with me. And I mean, for one, he believed in me. And he let me know right off the bat that from what he'd seen on film and from what he understood and learned about me as a person, he truly believed that I could be the guy to come in here.

And taking control of his offense and to lead this team, this program, this school to some wins and some big ones at that. And I knew that I still had to come in and earn it and prove it to him. But for him to be in the position as a head coach in the SEC and to see me as that type of caliber player, it was a really cool opportunity. And I just believed everything that he said to me. Your name has been thrown into the national spotlight. Last time we had you on, we talked about, Will Levis, that you were being projected by some in the top 10.

One had you, Chris Trapasso from CBS as the first quarterback off the board for this upcoming NFL draft. Just how has your game gotten even better since leaving Penn State and then going to Kentucky the last two years? I think just came with the experience I got. I mean, you could do all the practice that you can in practice settings or in offseason workouts, but I don't think you really develop that level of comfort at any level in football until you're able to get those live game reps. And throughout the season last year, I feel like towards the end of the year, I was able to kind of finally get into a rhythm and feel very confident in kind of maintaining games or managing games, I should say, and playing within the flow and rhythm of games. And I mean, every game is different. One of the biggest things that Coach Kangrell has actually taught and preached in me this year is to just to play within the flow of the game, like I said before, and to not try to make too many things happen rather than to just play within the realm of the offense and to make the right decision and make the play for what is asked for you at that time. And for a game like this past Saturday, I mean, things were going a little slower, and especially at the end of the game where it was more kind of like a clock management type of game where we weren't necessarily pushing it down the field through the air, but we were getting it done in the run game, and that was enough to get the time off the clock and to make it a two-possession game.

And it's just me trusting the coaches and really understanding what it's like to be a game manager, and that just makes me a better quarterback. Yeah, it was a heck of a win, and I think you basically just kind of alluded to it. You guys could play a whole lot better offensively.

No doubt. Yeah, I mean, we left a lot of yards out there in the first half especially, and then went into the second half with little to no rushing yards, but we knew that we were just one kind of block away or one missed tackle away from breaking a couple big ones. And we were able to just kind of see what we had out there that was going to work and trust in our coaching and trust in our preparation and know that if guys just went out there and did their jobs that it was going to come together and click, which it did. And I mean, we can do a better job of throwing and catching as well.

I think that we've done a pretty good job. It still strives to be taken in that area, but I feel really good about all the pieces we have around us, and we have the type of caliber players to go out and win big games like the one we just did. Everyone talks about Bryce Young and CJ Stroud being the top two quarterbacks in the country, and then you know the discussions we have.

Who's the third best quarterback in the country? Heading into this matchup with the way that Anthony Richardson plays and the way that you play, everyone's talking about you two. How is that buildup leading into the game when everyone's making the focus on you up against Anthony Richardson? I really wasn't focusing on it much at all.

I mean, Anthony's an awesome kid, awesome player, heck of a talent. But to be honest, I don't watch the offense. I watch their defense, and I was really only focusing on preparing to attack their defense and what they were going to throw at me. I just think that any kind of focus on all that outside stuff is only going to make you think too much and either make you think too highly of yourself or lowly of yourself, and neither of those things can really do well for you. I just try to block all that out.

So you naturally just don't think about the future? Because I understand that you've got to think about the present, but so many people are talking about your potential in the NFL. I know that as long as I just keep working and I keep preparing the way that I have and develop as a player, then all of that stuff is going to take care of itself. That is the goal. The main personal goal is to go play at a high level, at the next level. But to get that done, you heard the old saying, individual recognition comes after team success. And I think as long as I just keep making sure that I prepare each week to go out there and put a good performance as a team out there, then individually my role will play a role in that.

And I know that my performance will lead to getting the eyes on me that's going to make that ultimate goal happen. I know you beat Florida last week, but after the win that Florida had, or you beat Florida last year, but after the win that Florida had in week one up against Utah, everyone was talking about Billy Napier and Anthony Richardson. Did you guys feel internally with your program that you were going to disrespect a little bit heading into this matchup?

No, I mean they deserved all the credit in the world, and they still do. They're a great football team, but we wanted to go in there and turn heads. We don't pay too much attention to what's said about us and the media and all that, but when we can take extra motivation we run with it. And we saw some comments and heard some comments about how people were kind of not believing in us and our ability to go down there, but there was no doubt in any of our minds that we were going to go down there, put up a fight, and come out with that win because we know what we're built of and what we're made of.

And with what we saw that Florida was able to do against Utah while it was very impressive, we knew that we had the team to get it down there. How about that touchdown pass to Dane Key? That was really something. What a throw and what a catch.

Yeah, that was awesome. We started up front with great protection, a good play-action fake, and a good seven-man protection that kind of just gave me all the time in the world back there, and really a play that we were trying to hunt up a different route that high safety ended up cutting off, leaving Dane one-on-one with a corner, and just kind of put that ball on a good trajectory to trust him to go up there and make that one-on-one catch. We don't want to call him 50-50 balls. We want to call him 70-30 balls. When you got trust in your guys, and even though he's young, he gets it.

He's got to feel free. He's a physical dude. He has a great feel for the football.

And those plays, you've got to make those big types of plays if you want to win those big types of games. Talking to Will Levis for a few more moments on the Zach Gelb show, as we talked about earlier, what Mark Stoops has done at Kentucky is incredible. How would you describe where the brand of Kentucky football is at? I mean, I think we're on the rise.

I think that compared to where we were when he first got here, it's a world of difference. And I think our brand is just hard-nosed football, still with that underdog mentality, because I think that we still have a lot more people to prove wrong. But I think at least offensively, we like to think of ourselves as a very balanced offense with a lot of different ways to beat you. And one week it might be a different way than the next, but we just want to get the job done.

And at the end of the day, the only stat that matters is that W in the win column. And we've got to keep trusting in our coaches and our preparation. And we know that when we're on the top of our game, we can beat anybody. We've seen the consistency from this program and also some of the big-time players that they put in the NFL. What do you say to people that still doubt Kentucky football? I'd say keep doubting us. It gives us motivation.

I mean, I think that people can say whatever they want to say, but the only people's opinions that really matters are the people in this building. We're the only people that know how hard we work, what the thought process is in our preparation, and how we approach our game planning. And no one else has that kind of insight and understanding of our strategy, so there's really no reason to pay attention to what anyone else has to say about us. Is the sky the limit for the program this year? What do you feel like you guys could accomplish this season, Will?

Yeah, we can do anything we set our minds to. I mean, our goal this whole offseason was to go to the SEC Championship and win that thing, and I think that's just the next step for this program. Making it to the Citrus Bowl two times in the last handful of years.

Want to go to that New Year's Six Bowl game, but then also obviously want to win the SEC National Championship. That's our highest goal. And we know that if we can play our best brand of football week in and week out, the sky's the limit for us. Like I said, we got the guys to make it happen. We got to the coaching minds on the staff level to make it happen.

And we just got to make sure that we just have the right mindset as we go forward week in and week out. After the win up against Florida, Will Levis, did you celebrate with some mayo in the coffee? I did not.

No, I did not. We celebrated in the locker room afterwards. It was cool to hear Coach Stoops talk to us because Coach Merrill came up and reminded all of us that that made Coach Stoops the winningest coach in school history. And for us to do it in that environment down there in SEC's big time matchup meant a lot. So we celebrated on the locker room, had a good time on the flight home.

Didn't get back until like 3 a.m. and just crashed after that. So definitely no mayo in the coffee. Yeah. What's the origins behind that? Last time you joined us, you talked about the way that you've devoured a banana before and not unpeeling it. How did the mayo in the coffee start? Because so many people around our office, once you said that with the mayo in the coffee, were trying it here and some people were throwing up, other people said that it was okay.

It's definitely not too bad but it really just started, it was funny actually, it was the day before the Florida game last year. I was at a local diner here in Lexington having breakfast with my girlfriend and we had sat down and we each got our coffees and the only thing on our table, no cream, no sugar, was just a bottle of mayo. And my girlfriend was like, oh, like jokingly, like, oh, you should put that in your coffee, that's probably what it's for. And I was like, don't tempt me. And I had to try it and I just thought it was pretty funny but honestly it does not taste too bad.

As someone who does like mayo and who does like coffee, it really was pretty bearable. Last thing I'll ask you, just for people that are not familiar with you, how do you describe your game and who Will Levises is as a quarterback? I'd say I'm a gamer. I'm someone who's going to go out there, I'm going to do anything that I can in my ability to win while staying within the realm of the offense and what's asked of me in that specific play. I think I'm a cerebral player, I have an understanding of the game and the pieces that are working around me. But I'm also someone who can just make plays happen when things break down with my athleticism, with my arm, and I think I got all the tools to make it happen as a quarterback. Well it's been fun watching you the last two years and we can't wait to see what continues to happen here at your number two at Kentucky.

Great win over the weekend up against Florida, I'm sure we'll be talking down the road. Thanks for coming on. Thanks for having me.

I'm Mandy Bell, and I'm Sarah Langs. We're reporters for MLB.com and our new podcast Fielding Questions will explain why baseball players are so superstitious, what separates the best ballparks from the rest, and all those other things you always wanted to know about baseball, you know, the greatest sport in the world. You can subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, Odyssey, or wherever you get your podcasts. Get into all the Major League Baseball action with season two of Play Loud, exclusively on the MLB YouTube channel. Forget front row seats, we're taking you into the game on the field and in the dugout during some of the hottest matchups of the season. Catch real time reactions from Juan Soto in the field or listen in on the hilarious conversation between Eduardo Escobar and Francisco Lindor in the dugout. Tune in for live reactions from players across the league with unprecedented access. Play Loud is your exclusive look into the fun of the game.

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