By LARRY VAUGHT
The journey to becoming a NFL first-round draft pick this week has not been an easy one for Kentucky quarterback Will Levis.
“Connecticut is not the most recruited place in the country. It’s tough to get taken seriously out of high school when you play in Connecticut,” Levis said. “When I realized I wanted to get recruited, I knew I had to look at every possibility. It was tough.”
“I started my sophomore year (in high school). I got a couple of FCS offers, a few from the Ivy League. I kept working to get bigger opportunities but they were not coming. I was frustrated. I would go to camps and outperform kids and not get the respect I thought I deserved.”
Levis emailed college coaches. He said he was a “madman” on Twitter reaching out to coaches.
“Essentially I had to beg to get coaches to look at me. I didn’t give up. I committed the same summer after my junior year to Penn State, which was about five hours away. I was the lowest rated kid in my recruiting class. I was just the guy they threw in that recruiting class that nobody thought had any real chance to play,” Levis said.
“I was fifth on the depth chart (at Penn State) and still thought I was the best quarterback. (Trace) McSorley was one of my best friends but I told him I was there to take his job and why I gained his respect. I knew it was a long shot but I also knew you better be your biggest advocate. You have to have a twisted sense of confidence in yourself. If you don’t have that, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage.”
Levis is now in position to be one of the first four quarterbacks picked in Thursday’s NFL draft and one of the top 10 players overall (Kentucky has not had a top five pick since Dewayne Robertson in 2003 and has not had a quarterback go in the first round since Tim Couch in 1999). He could go as high as No. 2 according to some mock drafts but has been a consensus top 10 pick in the mock drafts for weeks. He had 43 touchdown passes at Kentucky and 5,233 passing yards and was the only quarterback in school history to beat rivals Louisville and Florida in back to back seasons.
He rose to No. 2 on the Penn State depth chart his redshirt freshman year but despite limited playing time was not happy with how he was being treated.
“I knew I could be a leader and felt I was not getting a fair shot to show what I was able to do,” Levis said. “On third and short they would put me in to run into a linebacker and then get me off the field. I knew I could do more. No one else saw that in me. I knew I could be the best if I kept working.”
Transferring to Kentucky gave him that opportunity the last two seasons, including a 10-win season in 2021. He always remembered the advice his grandfather gave him when he was 15 or 16 to “never give up” and he has a tattoo reminding him of that saying that keeps him connected with his grandfather.
He finished his undergraduate work in three years at Penn State — he earned his Master’s degree in finance at UK — and transferred to Kentucky with “no guarantees” of what his role might be.
“I just knew I would get a shot to start if I worked my ass off,” Levis said. “I had to prove I was the guy for the job, so I put all my energy into doing just that. Being named starting quarterback was one of the best days of my life. Transferring felt like I was going against my belief in not giving up but I could not control my circumstances at Penn State, so I just bet on myself.”
Levis has visited with Atlanta, Carolina, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Minnesota, New England, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Tennessee and New England. Six of those teams have top 10 picks in Thursday’s draft and the Patriots pick 14th.
“I have aspirations for myself that are unthinkable. You always want to set higher goals,” Levis said. “I want to do things that have never been done in football. I know as long as you don’t give up and stay confident in yourself and not worry about what anyone says about you, then you can set your own journey.”
Kentucky has the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class but Sporting News columnist Mike DeCourcy believes that coach John Calipari still needs to add shooters for next season to go with his incoming freshmen.
Guard CJ Fredrick has announced he will not be back at Kentucky next year and Antonio Reeves has put his name into the NBA draft even though he could still return to UK for another season.
“You need to have as many shooters in the program as you can. They were short on that last year and relied too much on Antonio,” DeCourcy said. “Some of that was CJ was hurt.”
Reeves became UK’s best — and sometimes only — 3-point threat and perimeter scorer but in the NCAA Tournament second-round loss to Kansas State he missed his first 14 shots, including nine from 3, before making his last shot.
“Everybody has bad days as a shooter. The best guys have their 1-for-7 days but they could not afford that because there was nobody else to make shots,” DeCourcy said. “Cason (Wallace) was struggling to defend because his leg was not healthy and then he had to run the point and now they needed him to make shots. That’s a lot to ask.
“I think they really need Antonio back but if they get him back he needs to play fewer minutes and be in a more specific role. When he is on, he plays a fair amount. But when he is not on, his minutes go lower. But he should never play more than 22 minutes in a game based on what he showed this year.
“Get him in, get him two or three shots and get him out before he hurts you defensively. That would be ideal for next season if Kentucky could do that. But they definitely need him and probably another shooter because no one guy is going to be on every game.”
Joe Schlarman is a 6-3, 265-pound junior lineman at Lexington Catholic who can squat 405 pounds according to his Twitter profile. He can also play all five offensive line positions.
He recently made an unofficial visit to Kentucky where he put on jersey No. 65 — the same number his father, John Schlarman, wore when he was playing at Kentucky.
“We are doing the recruiting thing right now,” said LeeAnne Schlarman, Joe’s mother. “Joe knows he needs to get stronger and bigger. He is working hard. It’s an exciting but nerve-wracking time. We have a lot of people helping guide us and I am just interested to see how it works out.”
John Schlarman coached at Kentucky and built the Big Blue Wall with his work with UK’s offensive line before his passing three years ago from cancer. Two of John Schlarman’s former players, Mason Wolfe and Zach West, are now assistant coaches at Lexington Catholic.
“It would just be amazing if Joe did end up there (Kentucky) but that’s a long way off,” LeeAnne said. “All the kids take pictures in jerseys and to do that in No. 65 was exciting for him. It was a very special moment for him and a really neat time.”
He’s been offered by Murray where former UK assistant Dean Hood is the head coach and has also received interest from Eastern Kentucky, Troy, Austin Peay and Miami.
Troy is coached by former UK player/assistant coach Jon Sumrall.
“John was at Troy for several years (as an assistant coach). We have a lot of good friends there,” LeeAnne said. “We are really close to the Sumralls. It’s been great to see them doing so well and the community rallying around him.”
Kentucky offensive line coach Zach Yenser went back and watched offensive tackle Marques Cox play against Kentucky last season when he found out the Northern Illinois transfer had interest in the Wildcats.
“If you watch, he has played a lot of snaps in his career,” Yenser said. “I like his length. He is physical. He played against us and Vanderbilt last year back to back and did great.
“Watching him and then getting a chance to be around him and realizing how good a human being he is and I realized his leadership was also what we needed. He is a mature player who will hold people accountable.”
Cox did everything the Kentucky coaches expected in spring practice and is clearly the No. 1 left tackle on the depth chart.
“I still remember the first time I met him in person. I called coach Stoops and said, ‘This guy will be our starting left tackle,’” Yenser said. “He just has a good presence about him.
“The one thing I learned last year is that college is a lot different game than the NFL. You continue to learn stuff and he’s a guy that will help others do that.”
Kentucky golfer Alex Goff had three straight rounds under 70 to finish with an 8-under par total to take second place at the SEC Championship in St. Simons Island, Ga. Goff’s 202 54-hole total tied for the eighth-best score in SEC Championship history.
“This means a lot to me,” Goff said. “When you think about college golf, the SEC is the first conference that comes to mind. You play to win an SEC Championship and I’m really proud to represent Kentucky the way I did this week.”
Texas A&M’s Sam Bennett was the low amateur in the recent Masters when he finished 16th with a 2-under par total. At the SEC Championship, he was 16th at 1-under par.
UK’s only SEC champion was John Owens in 1950 while Chip McDaniel was second in 2016, J.B. Holmes finished third in 2005 and David Snyder claimed fifth in 2014.
Goff had rounds of 67-68-67 and birdied three of his final four holes in his final round. He now has 19 under-par rounds this season going into NCAA Tournament play. It was his fourth top-10 finish this season and eighth top 20 finish. He also has another solo second place finish and a tie for second this season.
“The Seaside Course was a firm, fast and great test of golf. Alex handled the challenge beautifully and was solid all three rounds,” Kentucky coach Brian Craig said.
The NCAA Division I Men’s Golf selection show is May 3 on Golf Channel.
Quote of the Week: “I always wanted to keep it, but Will (Levis) had it so I wasn’t tripping. I knew when I had the opportunity I’d get it again. Being back in 7 makes me feel better,” Kentucky receiver Barion Brown on changing from jersey No. 2 to No. 7.
Quote of the Week 2: “I’m always laughing, always smiling, always pumping everybody up. I’m just real energetic, and I’m the leader — or I try to be,” Kentucky basketball signee Aaron Bradshaw on his personality.
Quote of the Week 3: “He should actually have an advantage size-wise, but he’s ruined his game, in my opinion, by just becoming a 3-point shooter. If you’re as big as he is, you’re going to have a size-height advantage every single night. But if you’re going to stand out on the perimeter, two things. You don’t get to the foul line and you don’t use your height. So it’s useless height and that’s what bothers me about his game,” NBA TNT analyst Charles Barkley on former UK player Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves.