Fox Sports national radio host Colin Cowherd said Will Levis had to learn to play under duress last season. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky quarterback Will Levis certainly was selling himself at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
“I think I have one of the strongest arms that’s come out of any draft class in recent memory. I’ve got a cannon and I’ll show it off,” Levis said during an interview at the combine.
Levis is being projected as a possible top 10 pick — or higher — in the April draft and he certainly has a big supporter in Fox Sports national radio host Colin Cowherd. He doesn’t understand why Levis is being doubted more than other high-profile college quarterbacks eligible for the draft.
“Let’s talk about stuff that matters for quarterbacks,” Cowherd said on his radio show, The Herd. “So, brain power. His mom went to Yale, his grandfather to Cornell. Highly-educated northeast kid. Brain power, A plus. Four-point finance major. Cognitively, kid is as smart as anybody in this draft. Any player.
“Arm strength? It’s all over the internet. The kid has a hose. He’s got a rocket arm. Brain power and arm strength, doesn’t mean everything, but they matter.”
He also likes that Levis is being questioned by so many.
“There’s also a third component. He’s been doubted,” Cowherd said. “He had to transfer from Penn State. Players that are doubted get a chip on their shoulder. Those three components: big brain, big arm and he’s been doubted so he’s not cocky, he had nothing handed to him.”
Cowherd pointed out that other quarterbacks like Joe Burrow and Aaron Rogers were doubted coming into the NFL and fared very well. Cowherd also noted Levis played in a top conference without elite players around him.
“Will Levis did not have a single first or second team all-conference player on offense,” Cowherd said. “Translation: the receivers aren’t as open. You’re under duress. You’re getting the crap kicked out of you. Translation: a real NFL experience.”
Cowherd compared Levis to quarterbacks Eli Manning of Mississippi and Philip Rivers of North Carolina State. Manning won two Super Bowls and was the MVP in both games. Rivers played 17 years and was named to eight Pro Bowls.
“Completion percentage, Will Levis is the highest of the three. Winning percentage, Will Levis the highest of the three. Touchdown to interception ratio, Will Levis in line with Eli Manning,” Cowherd said. “Brain power, arm, doubted, playing at a basketball school in the talent-rich south.”
