| Will Levis | |
| Current Team: | Tennessee Titans |
| Number: | 8 |
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Birth Date: | June 27, 1999 |
| Birth Place: | Newton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 4 |
| Weight Lb: | 229 |
| Draftyear: | 2023 |
| Draftround: | 2 |
| Draftpick: | 33 |
| Pastteams: |
|
| Status: | Active |
| Statseason: | 2024 |
| Statweek: | 13 |
| Statlabel1: | Passing attempts |
| Statvalue1: | 495 |
| Statlabel2: | Passing completions |
| Statvalue2: | 303 |
| Statlabel3: | Completion percentage |
| Statvalue3: | 61.2% |
| Statlabel4: | TD–INT |
| Statvalue4: | 20–13 |
| Statlabel5: | Passing yards |
| Statvalue5: | 3,467 |
| Statlabel6: | Passer rating |
| Statvalue6: | 84.8 |
| Pfr: | LeviWi00 |
William Donovan Levis (; born June 27, 1999) is an American professional football quarterback for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and Kentucky Wildcats before being selected by the Titans in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft.
Levis was born on June 27, 1999, in Newton, Massachusetts, and grew up in Madison, Connecticut. He attended Xavier High School in Middletown, Connecticut, where he set school records as a senior for passing touchdowns with 27 and passing yards with 2,793.[1] [2] Levis committed to Pennsylvania State University to play college football.[3]
Levis attended Pennsylvania State University from 2018 to 2020. After redshirting his first year, he spent the next two as Sean Clifford's backup. He made his first career start against Rutgers in 2019, completing eight of 14 passes for 81 yards with one touchdown and one interception with 108 rushing yards.[4] [5] [6] Overall at Penn State, he completed 61 of 102 passes for 644 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 473 yards and six touchdowns.
Levis transferred to the University of Kentucky in 2021,[7] after having graduated that May with a bachelor's degree in finance from Penn State's Smeal College of Business.[1] He was named the starter to open the season and in his first start threw for 367 yards and four touchdowns.[8] [9] [10] Levis started all 13 games for Kentucky, completing 233 of 353 passes for 2,827 yards and 24 touchdown passes while running for 376 yards and nine touchdowns on 107 rushes. Levis led the team to a victory over No. 15 Iowa in the 2022 Citrus Bowl.
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| Penn State Nittany Lions | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Redshirted | |||||||||||||||
| 2019 | 6 | 1 | 1−0 | 28 | 47 | 59.6 | 223 | 4.7 | 2 | 2 | 105.0 | 51 | 213 | 4.2 | 3 | |
| 2020 | 8 | 1 | 0−1 | 33 | 55 | 60.0 | 421 | 7.7 | 1 | 0 | 130.3 | 82 | 260 | 3.2 | 3 | |
| Kentucky Wildcats | ||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 13 | 13 | 10−3 | 233 | 353 | 66.0 | 2,826 | 8.0 | 24 | 13 | 148.3 | 107 | 376 | 3.5 | 9 | |
| 2022 | 11 | 11 | 7−4 | 185 | 283 | 65.4 | 2,406 | 8.5 | 19 | 10 | 151.9 | 72 | 107 | 1.5 | 2 | |
| Career | 38 | 26 | 18−8 | 479 | 738 | 64.9 | 5,876 | 8.0 | 46 | 25 | 145.6 | 312 | 742 | 2.4 | 17 | |
Despite initially being projected as a first-round pick, even being rumored to go first overall just days before the draft,[11] Levis surprisingly fell to the second day of the 2023 NFL draft, where the Tennessee Titans traded up to select Levis with the 33rd overall pick in the second round.[12] [13]
See also: 2023 Tennessee Titans season. Levis began the season as the third string quarterback behind starter Ryan Tannehill and Malik Willis.
In Week 8, on October 29, 2023, with Tannehill sidelined by an ankle injury, Levis made his NFL debut and first start, finishing with 238 passing yards and four touchdowns in a 28–23 win over the Atlanta Falcons.[14] [15] In Week 9, Levis made his second start against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night Football, throwing for 262 yards and an interception in a 20–16 loss.[16] In Week 10, on November 7, 2023, head coach Mike Vrabel announced that Levis would be the starting quarterback for the Titans moving forward, benching Tannehill.[17] On December 11, 2023, Levis threw for 327 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception as the Titans defeated the Miami Dolphins on the road. The Titans trailed by 14 points with 2:49 remaining in the game, but Levis led back-to-back scoring drives to push the Titans ahead by a score of 28–27.[18] This marked Levis' first career 300-yard passing game. Levis finished his rookie season with 1,808 passing yards, 8 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions.[19]
See also: 2024 Tennessee Titans season. Levis became the Titans' starting quarterback for the 2024 season following the departures of Tannehill and Willis, with newly signed Mason Rudolph named as backup.[20] Levis began the season with a rocky start, going 1-4 during his first five games while completing 86 out of 125 passes for 699 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions.[21] Levis led the league in total turnovers during this period,[22] one of which notably became a viral clip of Levis falling to his knees following a Week 1 interception during a fourth quarter lead against the Chicago Bears.[23] [24]
During the September 30 31–12 victory over the Miami Dolphins, Levis was relieved by Rudolph after injuring his AC joint on a third down drive. Levis was not cleared to play the following week but then returned for Week 6's 20-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.[25] Levis was sidelined following the loss for the next three games after re-aggravating the injury he sustained against the Dolphins.
He made his return on Week 10 against the Los Angeles Chargers.[26] Levis had a stronger showing during a Week 11 loss against the Minnesota Vikings, throwing for 295 yards, 1 interception, and a career high 98-yard touchdown to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, which tied the franchise record for longest passing touchdown.[27] Levis' improvement continued the following week, leading the Titans to a 32–27 upset against the rival Houston Texans, completing 18 out of 24 passes for 278 total yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception.[28]
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Sacks | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEN | 9 | 9 | 3–6 | 149 | 255 | 58.4 | 1,808 | 7.1 | 61 | 8 | 4 | 84.2 | 25 | 57 | 2.3 | 11 | 1 | 28 | 185 | 7 | 4 | ||
| TEN | 9 | 9 | 2–7 | 154 | 240 | 64.2 | 1,659 | 6.9 | 98 | 12 | 9 | 85.4 | 38 | 172 | 4.5 | 21 | 0 | 37 | 196 | 6 | 4 | ||
| Career | 18 | 18 | 5–13 | 303 | 495 | 61.2 | 3,467 | 7.0 | 98 | 20 | 13 | 84.8 | 63 | 229 | 3.6 | 21 | 1 | 65 | 381 | 13 | 8 | ||
Levis's father, Mike, played football at Denison University, an NCAA Division III school in Ohio, while his mom, Beth Kelley, was a two-time All-American soccer player at Yale.[29] His great-grandfather Alva Kelley was an All-American football player at Cornell University and later a head coach for three college teams.[30] Levis graduated from Penn State's Smeal College of Business with a bachelor's degree in finance.[31]
Levis gained media attention in the build-up to the 2023 draft for his strange eating and drinking habits, most notably eating unpeeled bananas and drinking coffee with mayonnaise. Levis announced on August 22, 2023, that he had signed a lifetime supply contract of Hellmann's mayonnaise.[32] [33] In August 2024, Hellmann's announced it was creating a fragrance inspired by Levis named "Will Levis No. 8, Parfum de Mayonnaise".[34]