Introduction
William Donovan Levis (LEV-is; born June 27, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State and Kentucky before being selected by the Titans in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
High school career
Levis was born on June 27, 1999, in Newton, Massachusetts, and grew up in Madison, Connecticut. He attended Xavier High School in Middletown, Connecticut where he set school records as a senior for passing touchdowns with 27 and passing yards with 2,793. Levis committed to Penn State to play college football.
College career
Penn State
Levis attended Penn State from 2018 to 2020. After redshirting his first year, he spent the next two as Sean Clifford's backup. He made his first career start against Rutgers in 2019, completing eight of 14 passes for 81 yards with one touchdown and one interception with 108 rushing yards. Overall at Penn State, he completed 61 of 102 passes for 644 yards, threetouchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 473 yards and six touchdowns.
Kentucky
Levis transferred to the University of Kentucky in 2021, after having graduated that May with a bachelor's degree in finance from Penn State's Smeal College of Business. He was named the starter to open the season and in his first start threw for 367 yards and four touchdowns. Levis started all 13 games for Kentucky, completing 233 of 353 passes for 2,827 yards and 24 touchdown passes while running for 376 yards and nine touchdowns on 107 rushes. Levis led the team to a victory over No. 15 Iowa in the 2022 Citrus Bowl.
Statistics
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| Penn State Nittany Lions | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Redshirted | |||||||||||||||
| 2019 | 6 | 1 | 1−0 | 28 | 47 | 59.6 | 223 | 4.7 | 2 | 2 | 105.0 | 51 | 213 | 4.2 | 3 | |
| 2020 | 8 | 1 | 0−1 | 33 | 55 | 60.0 | 421 | 7.7 | 1 | 0 | 130.3 | 82 | 260 | 3.2 | 3 | |
| Kentucky Wildcats | ||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 13 | 13 | 10−3 | 233 | 353 | 66.0 | 2,826 | 8.0 | 24 | 13 | 148.3 | 107 | 376 | 3.5 | 9 | |
| 2022 | 11 | 11 | 7−4 | 185 | 283 | 65.4 | 2,406 | 8.5 | 19 | 10 | 151.9 | 72 | 107 | 1.5 | 2 | |
| Career | 38 | 26 | 18−8 | 479 | 738 | 64.9 | 5,876 | 8.0 | 46 | 25 | 145.6 | 312 | 742 | 2.4 | 17 | |
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Vertical jump | Broad jump | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+7⁄8 in (1.93 m) |
229 lb (104 kg) |
32 in (0.81 m) |
10+5⁄8 in (0.27 m) |
34.0 in (0.86 m) |
10 ft 4 in (3.15 m) | |||||||
| All values from the NFL Combine | ||||||||||||
Despite initially being projected as a first-round pick, Levis "surprisingly" fell in the draft. On the second day of the draft, the Tennessee Titans traded up to select Levis with the 33rd overall pick in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
2023
Levis began the season as the third string quarterback behind starter Ryan Tannehill and Malik Willis. On October 29, 2023, with Tannehill sidelined by an ankle injury, Levis made his NFL debut and first start, finishing with 238 passing yards and four touchdowns in a 28–23 win over the Atlanta Falcons in week eight. Levis made his second start against the Pittsburgh Steelers the following Thursday, throwing for 262 yards and 1 interception in a 20-16 loss.
On November 7, 2023, head coach Mike Vrabel announced that Levis would be the starting quarterback for the Titans moving forward.
NFL career statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Sacks | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Y/A | TD | Sck | SckY | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2023 | TEN | 2 | 2 | 1–1 | 41 | 68 | 60.3 | 500 | 7.4 | 4 | 1 | 96.4 | 8 | 13 | 1.6 | 0 | 6 | 39 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 2 | 2 | 1–1 | 41 | 68 | 60.3 | 500 | 7.4 | 4 | 1 | 96.4 | 8 | 13 | 1.6 | 0 | 6 | 39 | 0 | 0 | |
Personal life
Levis's father, Mike, played football at Denison University, a NCAA Division III school in Ohio, while his mom, Beth Kelley, was a two-time All-American soccer player at Yale. His great-grandfather Alva Kelley was an All-American football player at Cornell University and later a head coach for three college teams. Levis graduated from Penn State's Smeal College of Business with a bachelor's degree in finance.
Levis gained media attention in the build-up to the 2023 draft for his strange eating and drinking habits, most notably eating unpeeled bananas and drinking coffee with mayonnaise. Levis announced on August 22, 2023, that he had signed a lifetime supply contract of Hellmann's mayonnaise.