Kentucky quarterback Will Levis excited about starting job

Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops informed the team this weekend that quarterback Will Levis will be the week one starter. The Penn State graduate transfer beat out returning quarterbacks Joey Gatewood and Beau Allen for the starting job.

Excited about the opportunity, Levis posted his message to fans on social media late Sunday night.

I’m so incredibly blessed to be given this amazing opportunity. Words can’t describe how excited I am to lead this group of guys! Get ready for a great season, Big Blue Nation! https://t.co/MGyqhmfR6C

— Will Levis (@will_levis) August 16, 2021

“I’m so incredibly blessed to be given this amazing opportunity,” Levis posted. “Words can’t describe how excited I am to lead this group of guys! Get ready for a great season, Big Blue Nation!”

The fifth-year quarterback from Penn State has played 15 career games, completing 61-of-102 passes for 644 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. He is also a threat on the ground with 473 career rushing yards and six touchdowns.

Shortly after the announcement that Levis would start for Kentucky, Gatewood entered the transfer portal. The junior quarterback transferred to Kentucky from Auburn in 2020 and got his first collegiate start against Georgia last season.

According to reports, Gatewood will not practice with the team while he makes a decision about his future. This makes Allen the de facto backup, despite Stoops’ previous comments that the backup spot remained a competition between the two.

Success at Kentucky

Kentucky football has made big strides under Stoops in the last eight years. He has now taken the Wildcats to five straight bowl games and enters 2021 with three consecutive bowl wins from 2018-2020.

In 2020, the team started 2-4 against SEC opponents before winning three of the next five to finish 5-6 with a TaxSlayer Gator Bowl win over North Carolina State.

Stoops led Kentucky to fourth straight winning seasons before 2020’s 10 game SEC-only schedule, including a 10-win season in 2018.

2021 outlook

Phil Steele ranks Kentucky football No. 59 overall in his 2021 forecast and No. 3 in the SEC East. A tough SEC schedule that includes Florida, LSU and Georgia in three weeks makes this one of the toughest schedules in the country.

New offensive coordinator Liam Coen joins from the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, where he worked under Sean McVay. The 35-year-old coordinator served as an assistant wide receiver coach and assistant quarterback coach in the NFL after two seasons as the offensive coordinator at UMass from 2014-15.

The offense returns preseason All-American senior left tackle Darian Kinnard, the nation’s top run blocker according to Pro Football Focus. Leading rusher Chris Rodriguez returns to the backfield after 11 touchdowns last season.

Kentucky’s wide receiver core features fifth year senior Josh Ali, who finished 2020 as the team’s leading receiver with 54 catches for 473 yards and a touchdown. The Wildcats also add Nebraska transfer Wan’Dale Robinson, who is one of the top newcomers in the conference. Junior tight end Keaton Upshaw returns after leading the team with three touchdown receptions last season beside fifth year senior Justin Rigg.