Physical play by Will Levis has impressed his UK teammates

Penn State transfer Will Levis won the starting quarterback job during preseason practice. However, he may have established himself as the clear team leader on offense with his performance against Tennessee even though UK lost 45-42.

He completed 31 of 49 passes for 372 yards and three scores and ran 15 times for 47 yards and two more scores, including one where he leaped over two Tennessee defenders to get into the end zone.

He was the first player in UK history to throw for two scores and run for two in the same game. His 372 passing yards were also the most by a UK quarterback since Patrick Towles threw for 390 against Mississippi State in 2014 until he bettered that by completing 21 of 31 throws for 419 yards and four scores against New Mexico State last week.

“I think the guys have been behind him for a while, but when you see him throw his body around like he does and jumping and leaping over people …. Please stop, but you can’t stop him,” Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen said.

“Players respect that he is not afraid of contact. He is going to lay it on the line every rep and that’s something that gains more and more confidence from teammates. That’s a big factor in playing that position. Players that make plays with their legs and do not run out of bounds instead of sliding, which I wish he would do. That even helps in getting our defense to respect him. So I think it’s a big factor in his leadership.”

Coen said Levis is “tough as nails” and the UK offensive coordinator says no one works harder than the UK quarterback or goes as fast in practice daily as Levis.

“He’s 100 miles per hour,” Coen said.

Going into the regular season-ending game at Louisville tonight,  Levis has 21 touchdown passes — more than any quarterback has had in the Mark Stoops era.