Kentucky coach Mark Stoops believes quarterback Will Levis can be a "franchise" player in the NFL. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Mark Stoops is not a coach who normally is lavish in his praise of any particular player. The Kentucky coach is normally remarkably honest in his player evaluation and if anything often might downplay a player’s play.
That’s why it was a little surprising when Stoops praised quarterback Will Levis like he did at the recent SEC Media Days. Maybe he did it to help Levis’ national image or maybe he just thought there was no way to downplay what Levis did last year and is expected to do this season.
Stoops was asked if Levis exceeded expectations last season after transferring to UK from Penn State. The UK coach said he felt that was a “fair” observation.
“I knew what he was capable of. I’m not going to lie, when I watch him at times, I mean, it does kind of blow you away,” Stoops said.
Blow you away? That’s BIG praise from Stoops.
“You just watch him maybe on a windy day, there’s gusts coming at you, and the way he rips the football, the way he throws it, the way he works. He’s exceptional,” Stoops said.
The Kentucky coach said he didn’t worry about praising Levis impact the way he approaches the season.
“I don’t worry about talking about him like that because he’s very self-driven. He’s worried about getting better. He works his tail off every day. All you have to do is watch the way he plays the game,” Stoops said.
“If you put on a film, watch the way he plays the game, you have to respect that. Because he cares. He cares about winning. He cares about competing. He’ll do whatever is necessary to put the team on his back and carry them to victory.”
“Guys can respond to people like that. His talent kind of speaks for itself. But he has all the intangibles to be a franchise guy at the next level. I know he is with us. He’s a special player.”
One Response
Levis is the best QB UK has had since Couch IMO. Had he been playing football at UK for four years, who knows what he might have accomplished. He has the heart and grit of a Freddie Maggard, and the skill of a future NFL QB. I do believe he will be playing this game on Sundays. I can’t think of a better leader to have under center in the SEC than this young man. What he needs now is to find some WR’s and TE’s on his team this year who can pickup where Wandale left off.
Comments are closed.