Greg McElroy challenges Will Levis to elevate game in 2022

Kentucky quarterback Will Levis is drawing praise from numerous media outlets this preseason and ESPN’s 2023 NFL Mock Draft recently had him pegged as the No. 8 overall selection to the Detroit Lions. He’s even drawn comparisons to Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills, because of the tremendous physical tools he has at his disposal. While ESPN’s Greg McElroy said he understands the hype around Levis on his podcast, “Always College Football,” he challenged the Kentucky signal-caller to step his game up this season against the better teams.

“Will Levis. Let’s start with him at Kentucky. We know he looks the part. He’s big. He’s physical. He’s athletic. And NFL teams are salivating over his potential. Why? Because he resembles Josh Allen–[laughs]–as far as him being able to run around. Him being able to create. Him being able to drive the ball into tight windows and push the ball down the field with a lot of natural strength,” McElroy said.

“Now, when you look at what Will Levis has made headlines for. It’s for all the wrong reasons. You need to focus on the game. Not the fact that he eats bananas with the peel. Alright? Focus on how he plays and how he fits into that offense. That’s an offense that is run first. Without question. You know it’s gonna be a two-horse approach at running back. They’re gonna try to establish the line of scrimmage. They’re gonna try to get off tackle. Will Levis has done a pretty dang good job of being able to mix in his own athleticism within this offense,” McElroy said.

“What I want to see from him in this next step. I just wanna see him play better against quality teams. Just three ranked teams last season. Granted, one of those was Georgia, so take this with a slight grain of salt. In the three teams he played last year that were ranked, he had four touchdowns against just three interceptions. That’s just not good enough. Again, if you are going to be one of the best quarterbacks in America. And a lot of people think Will Levis has a chance to make that stride. You’ve got to play your best against the best competition. That’s right. That’s the next step for Will Levis. We know he has the natural ability. We know he has the God given gifts,” the former Alabama signal-caller said.

“But, now, can he elevate his play alongside that of some of the players that have done so in the past? That have pulled off remarkable upsets for Kentucky and other teams that might be considered an underdog against those top ranked teams. Georgia being the best example of that. So, we’ll see exactly how he handles it. I think he’ll take a big leap this year. Granted, last year was the only year as a full-time starter. So, I expect him to be better in year two like so many quarterbacks are,” McElroy said.

Will Levis is set to enter his second season as the Kentucky starting quarterback after leading the Wildcats to just their fourth 10-win season in school history in 2021. We’ll see if he can step up to the challenge and improve his numbers against the top teams he faces.

On3’s Chandler Vessels also contributed to this article.