KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Connecticut's own Will Levis has been drafted 33rd overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2023 NFL Draft on Friday.
This selection comes an entire day later than what was expected for him as ESPN projected him as 92% likely to be drafted in the Top 10. Falling out of the first round in its entirety was almost unheard of, but there are no guarantees in an NFL Draft. Now he'll have a chance to prove himself as a second-round pick.
Levis, who was born in Madison now joins Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Jack Driscoll as the only people two people from the town to make the NFL.
Levis attended Xavier High School in Middletown. At Xavier High, he set school records for passing touchdowns with 27 and passing yards with 2,793.
Andy Guyon, head coach at Xavier High School, told FOX61 News ahead of the draft that Levis was a "very driven" student-athlete who knew exactly what he wanted out of his career - and had the arm to take him there.
"He's a gunslinger," Guyon said. "He wants the ball in those special situations and he's going to let it rip. He's got special arm talent."
He added: "When you think about Will, you had blinders on because you knew he was going places. We always thought he had a lot of talent. When he kept getting better, it never really surprised us because of the type of work ethic he has. I just feel like he has a chance to be special."
After high school, Levis committed to Penn State in 2018 to play college football. Levis redshirted his freshman year and then was the Nittany Lion's backup quarterback from 2018 to 2020.
Levis then transferred to the University of Kentucky. The team captain started all 13 games for the Wildcats in 2021, throwing for 2,827 yards and 24 touchdowns and leading the squad with nine rushing scores. Levis started 11 games in his final college season in 2022, missing one game with shoulder and turf toe injuries and opting out of the team's bowl game to be ready for the NFL Draft.
"We're very proud of him. I think it shows that you can go to a four-year high school in the state of Connecticut through hard work and you can be successful and you can get to the NFL," Guyon said.
Levis at the NFL Draft combine was listed as 6'4" and 229 pounds. NFL.com lists his quarterback comparison to former Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.
Daniel Dashefsky is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at ddashefsky@fox61.com.
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