Kentucky senior quarterback Will Levis has been named the Academic All-America® Division I Football Team Member of the Year, announced by the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) on Tuesday. He becomes the first football player and just the second student-athlete at Kentucky to win the prestigious award, which recognizes athletic and academic success. He joins swimmer Asia Seidt, who was named the CoSIDA At-Large Academic Female Team Member of the Year in 2020.
“It really means lot to me to receive this academic award,” Levis said. “Academics have always been a priority in my life. Most people don’t even realize how much time student-athletes spend studying and working on their degrees. It’s a lot and I couldn’t have done it without the help of my academic advisor Jon Ross and everyone in the academic center at Kentucky. I also want to thank associate professor Dr. Mark Liu and all of the other faculty members and students in my program for their guidance and support during my two years at Kentucky.”
Levis, a native of Madison, Connecticut, was excellent in the classroom and on the playing field throughout his gridiron career. In May of 2021, he graduated magna cum laude with a degree in finance in just three years from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business, finishing with a 3.95 grade point average. In two years at Kentucky, he earned a master’s degree in finance from UK’s prestigious Gatton School of Business and Economics, graduating on December 12, 2022.
“Congratulations to Will on this great honor,” head coach Mark Stoops said. “It doesn’t surprise me at all because everything he does, he does with 100 percent effort. He’s the epitome of a student-athlete and we are very proud of him.”
Levis was named to the First-Year Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll in 2021 and with this honor becomes a first-team Academic All-American, UK’s first since Blake Best in 2019.
“Will is one of the most impressive young men I’ve had the opportunity to work with at Kentucky,” Levis’ academic counselor Jon Ross said. “For him to be able to manage all the responsibilities that come with being a starting quarterback in the SEC, and still work at such a high level in the classroom, it’s just remarkable what he’s been able to accomplish. It’s a tribute to the type of person he is on and off the field.”
On the field, the two-time team captain engineered a 17-7 record as the starter in his two seasons as a Wildcat. His 17 wins tied Terry Wilson for the second-most quarterback wins since 1993 (starting lineups available since 1993). He totaled 5,233 passing yards, sixth on UK’s career list and accounted for 43 career touchdowns passes, fifth all-time at UK. Altogether, he had 54 total touchdowns (43 passing and 11 rushing). He totaled six 300-yard passing games as a Wildcat, which ranked fourth in school history.
In 2022, he led UK to its school-record seventh consecutive bowl appearance with a 7-5 overall record. Despite playing with multiple injuries during the season, he completed 185 of 283 passes for 2,406 yards and 19 touchdowns and 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 an impressive 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 scores, while rushing for 376 net yards and nine touchdowns. His 24 TD passes were the most since Andre’ Woodson had 40 in 2007. He totaled 3,202 yards of total offense, the seventh player in school history to reach 3,000 yards of total offense in a season. He went on to lead UK to just its fourth 10-win season in school history with a win over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl.
Levis has declared for the National Football League draft which will take place outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27-29, 2023.
– GO CATS –
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Susan Lax