Titans Trade Up to Acquire Levis, Reuniting Him with Former Wildcat Teammate Justin Rigg
In the 2023 National Football League (NFL) Draft on Friday night at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, Kentucky senior quarterback Will Levis was chosen as the 33rd overall pick in the second round by the Tennessee Titans. The Titans traded up eight places—from the 10th to the second pick of the round—to secure Levis. Levis will join his former Wildcat teammate, tight end Justin Rigg, on the Titans’ roster.
Levis, hailing from Madison, Connecticut, was a two-time team captain with a 17-7 record as a starting quarterback in his two seasons at the University of Kentucky (UK). His 17 wins tied Terry Wilson for the second-most quarterback wins since 1993. Levis totaled 5,233 passing yards (ranking sixth on UK’s career list) and 43 career touchdown passes (ranking fifth all-time at UK). He also had 11 rushing touchdowns, bringing his total career touchdowns to 54.
In 2022, despite playing through multiple injuries, Levis led UK to its school-record seventh consecutive bowl appearance and a 7-6 overall record. He completed 185 of 283 passes for 2,406 yards and 19 touchdowns. Levis was on the watch lists for several national awards, including the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Top 10, College Football Performance Awards National Performer of the Year Trophy, Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2022, Manning Award, Maxwell Trophy, and Walter Camp Player of the Year.
Levis had a standout debut season for the Wildcats in 2021 after transferring from Penn State. In 13 games, he completed 233 of 353 passes for 2,827 yards and 24 touchdowns, while rushing for 376 net yards and nine touchdowns. He led UK to its fourth 10-win season in school history with a victory over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl.
Off the field, Levis graduated magna cum laude with a degree in finance from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business in just three years, boasting a 3.95 GPA. He later earned a master’s degree in finance from UK’s prestigious Gatton School of Business and Economics. In 2022, Levis was named the Academic All-America® Division I Football Team Member of the Year by the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA), becoming the first football player and just the second student-athlete at Kentucky to win the prestigious award.
The 2023 NFL Draft will continue with rounds 4–7 on Saturday, April 29 at noon ET. The event is televised nationally by NFL Network, ABC, ESPN, and ESPN Deportes and can be heard nationwide on Westwood One Radio, SiriusXM NFL Radio, and ESPN Radio.
Kentucky/NFL Draft Notes:
- This marks the fifth straight year UK has had at least one player taken in the first three rounds.
- Levis is the 22nd player drafted who played for head coach Mark Stoops at Kentucky.
- Levis is Kentucky’s fifth second-round draft pick who played for Stoops, marking the third year in a row UK has had a player taken in the second round.
- Levis is the first UK quarterback drafted since Andre’ Woodson was selected by the New York Giants in the sixth round in 2008. He is the highest UK QB selected since Tim Couch was the overall No. 1 pick of the 1999 draft.
- Levis is the second Kentucky player ever drafted