Will Levis, Jacquez Jones building relationship as QBs of offense and defense

Going into year two, Kentucky quarterback Will Levis’ role as the leader of the offense is clear. After briefly flirting with the draft, he returned for one final season in Lexington with sky-high expectations both individually and as a team.

In return, the program is all-in on Levis, inarguably the face of the Wildcats in 2022.

“Very strong leadership on this team, and that has a lot to do with the foundation of the players in previous years,” head coach Mark Stoops said at Football Media Day this week. “Really feel proud of the work that we’ve done.”

Levis may be the face of the program, but that doesn’t mean he’s the lone leader in the locker room. Another? The quarterback of the defense, Jacquez Jones.

Starting at the Mike linebacker position, the super senior out of Tuscaloosa, Ala. is coming off a debut season in Lexington where he led the team in tackles with 86 to go with four pass breakups, 3.5 tackles for loss, three quarterback hurries, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. It’s a crucial piece returning to lead the defense for one final year at Kentucky.

One quarterback of the offense, one quarterback of the defense. With so much weight on their shoulders going into the season, the two standouts have come together to form a tight-knit relationship, leaning on one another to get the best out of their respective units.

“It’s typical, but I’ll just say Will (Levis),” Jones said when asked of a player on the other side of the football standing out in camp. “Me and him, we talk after practice and we’re like, ‘In this coverage, what do you see?’ Stuff like that. Me being the Mike linebacker, I’m basically the quarterback on the defense, he’s the quarterback on offense.”

The two players exchange tips on how to beat their respective units, pushing each other to learn and develop. At the end of the day, it helps both sides improve as the season quickly approaches.

“I feel like me and him — he’s been playing well and he’s been pushing me,” Jones said. “In the training room, he asks me what coverages we’re playing and how he can beat them, stuff like that. I feel like me and him, we’ve got to have that relationship so we can really take ourselves to the next level.”

Jones gets a better view of Levis than anyone else on the field or sidelines. When he stares down receivers or makes the wrong reads, the Kentucky linebacker is there to not only witness it firsthand, but capitalize on those mistakes. Then they get to talk things over together afterward.

“I’m able to talk to him about mostly vision,” Levis said. “I’ve asked him a couple of times how my eyes are, like, I don’t want to be staring down things. That’s the biggest thing in our offense, you don’t want to telegraph where you’re going with the ball. He’s been able to kind of tell me when I’m getting a little too early to my progressions or if he sees when certain things are coming.”

Along with fellow super senior DeAndre Square, Levis says Jones has arguably the best football mind on the defense. It’s a supply of knowledge the Kentucky quarterback is grateful to have on his side — outside of practice, of course.

“He’s a good person to learn from,” Levis said. “He’s definitely got probably the best football mind on that defense, him and (DeAndre) Square, which is really, really cool.”