2023 NFL Draft: Kentucky QB Will Levis Travels to Knoxville Saturday Evening to Square Off Against Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker

The No. 19 ranked Kentucky Wildcats, led by their star quarterback Will Levis, head to Knoxville this weekend to challenge the No. 3 ranked Tennessee Volunteers. Hendon Hooker is a front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, making this a matchup of two top signal-callers from the 2023 NFL Draft.

The Kentucky Wildcats sit at 5-2 as we enter the ninth week of college football. The Wildcats started the 2022 season on a four-game winning streak but have dropped two of their past three.

The first loss came against Ole Miss, who was unbeaten at the time. The next came at home against South Carolina, but Kentucky quarterback Will Levis missed the game due to injury. He returned two weeks ago against Mississippi State and came away victorious.

What makes Levis special as an NFL Draft prospect is the offense that he runs, as well as his physical makeup. Levis stands at 6-foot-3, 222 pounds, and leads a system that borrows a lot from the Sean McVay/Kyle Shanahan philosophy.

Liam Coen installed this system as the team’s offensive coordinator in 2021, before returning to the Rams to fill the same role for the 2022 season. Rich Scangarello, a Kyle Shanahan protege, took over as the play caller in Coen’s absence and largely kept the offense the same.

Levis routinely lines up and displays full three- and five-step drops. He is a master at selling the play action fake and consistently gets his head back toward the field after completing the fake. A lot of motion takes place in the offense, as Levis uses this to diagnose the defense’s alignment pre-snap.

On top of this, Levis possesses a rocket launcher of a right arm. He can reach every level of the defense with ease and has nice zip on his throws into tighter windows. Additionally, Levis is a tank to bring down as a runner. He can always pick up the one-yard on a sneak and is ready to bulldoze an oncoming defender every snap.

The advanced nature of the system that Levis is in will lend well to his ability to learn at a fast rate as a rookie. Considering he is older for an NFL Draft prospect, Levis will have to sell the fact that he is pro-ready right now.

The Wildcats are coming off a bye week and have had two weeks to prepare for their showdown with the Volunteers. Head coach Mark Stoops will have his team ready Saturday evening; it will be up to the juggernaut known as Tennessee to answer the bell.

Hendon Hooker put his name on NFL Draft radars following the 2021 season. His first year with the Volunteers showed a different side of Hooker’s game. At Virginia Tech, the athletic quarterback ran the ball as much as he threw it. In 2021, he spent more time in the pocket as a passer.

Thanks to a creative scheme crafted by Josh Heupel, Hooker set new career highs across the board. He ended the season with an impressive 68% completion rate, 2,945 passing yards, and 31 touchdowns with only three interceptions. Even with the added time in the pocket, Hooker still recorded 616 yards and five scores on the ground.

So far in 2022, Hooker has been even better. Through seven games, the 24-year-old quarterback is completing over 70% of his passes on the season. He has already thrown for 2,093 yards and 18 touchdowns, with only one interception to this point. Hooker also has chipped in 315 yards and three touchdowns as a runner.

Hooker’s age will force several teams to look elsewhere, but his package of talent should not be overlooked simply due to the year he was born. The dual-threat quarterback is capable of doing anything needed for a new-age leader behind center.

Hooker has the arm strength to attack defenses downfield, the pinpoint accuracy inside 10-15 yards that most quarterbacks can only dream of, and an ability to run with the football that is, quite frankly, unmatched in the 2023 NFL Draft QB class.

The chiseled veteran on the college football scene possesses a wisdom that can only come from droves of experience. Hooker spearheaded the upset against Alabama two weekends ago, posting more than 300 passing yards and compiling five touchdown tosses in the process.

If the Volunteers want to continue their Cinderella run, they better take this matchup against Kentucky seriously. Will Levis and Hendon Hooker know that dozens of scouts will be in attendance to watch them throw the pigskin around. We will see who makes the most of the extra eyes.