Will Levis Escaped 'Dark Place' to Find Success at Kentucky

Will Levis was smiling ear to ear just before he took a bite out of a citrus fruit to celebrate his tenth win as Kentucky’s starting quarterback, a 20-17 victory over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl. The start of 2022 looked much different than where Levis was at the beginning of 2021. Relegated to a reserve role at Penn State, he was looking for answers. He found those at Kentucky.

“A year ago at this time I was in a pretty dark place. I was looking for an answer from God as to like what I was going to do, whether stay at my previous school,” the quarterback said after Saturday’s win.

He started the 2020 season as Penn State’s backup. As Sean Clifford struggled, Levis got his first opportunity to start against Iowa. Levis completed 13-of-16 passes for just 106 yards and the Nittany Lions lost 41-21 to the Hawkeyes.

“Ironically enough, those feelings kind of started settling in after I got yanked in the Iowa game. Getting benched doesn’t feel good. And having to think about what I wanted to do, and to come here and make a decision, betting on myself, trusting God’s light in coming in here and be a leader for this team.”

Robinson Receives Revenge

Like Levis, Wan’Dale Robinson did not have good memories facing Iowa at his former school. One of Nebraska’s rivals, the Huskers never made it to a bowl during Wan’Dale’s tenure in part because of the season-ending losses to Iowa.

“It was just special.” Robinson said. “I mean, if you know anything about Nebraska, that’s a rival school for me. I’ve lost to them for two years in a row, so this one was a little bit more special, especially for the guys I played with out there, and then just personally I wanted to beat these guys and I wanted to finish out strong with my teammates here. So it was just good to get that win. It felt really good.”

hahahahaha https://t.co/8ldxIFmZs9 pic.twitter.com/3Bt1PnQr0D

— Wan’Dale Robinson (@wanda1erobinson) January 1, 2022

Each player needed a fresh start after struggling to find the right fit in the Big Ten. It’s pretty clear they made the correct choice at Kentucky. Robinson caught 10 of Levis’ 17 Citrus Bowl completions, accounting for 170 of the 233 passing yards in the win. When Kentucky was against the ropes, neither flinched, delivering the BBN a W.

“Me coming home, I had the mentality of coming and working and just do everything I can to help our team win. And as time went on, they started trusting me more and more, just to do more and more,” said Robinson.

“I just tried to do everything I could, and then everything came with it. And so I’m just extremely blessed that they gave me the opportunities to go out there and make plays like I did, and he gave me every chance I could to go out and catch all the balls I could.”

Levis added, “We had those moments today in the game where it wasn’t necessarily going my way, or our way, and we kind of had to just keep pushing, keep trusting, keep up a positive attitude, and you know, it came together, and I’m so glad it ended the way it did.”