Massachusetts Native Will Levis Shined In His NFL Debut
Did you know Tennessee Titans quarterback, Will Levis is a Massachusetts native? In fact, this rookie has deep ties to New England, and yesterday, the football world saw him deliver a stellar first start of his NFL career.
Levis was named the starting quarterback vs. the Atlanta Falcons by head coach Mike Vrabel (also a New England football legend) after Ryan Tannehill was confirmed to be out with an injury. However, the expectation was that Levis would split time with fellow Titans quarterback Malik Wallis. Levis threw a wrench into those plans by dominating on the field. Vrabel then stuck with the hot hand.
In total Levis threw four touchdowns. This matched a record held by only Marcus Mariotta (who was also with the Titans at the time) and Fran Tarkenton, as the only rookies to throw for four or more touchdowns in their first game.
By The Numbers
Levis’ day resulted in an outstanding passer rating of 130.5. He was 19 of 29 passing for 238 yards and four touchdowns. The first of Levis’ career came towards the end of the first quarter when he hit receiver DeAndre Hopkins for a 47-yard touchdown. Hopkins would then have two more touchdowns off passes thrown by Levis. They were in the second and third quarters respectively. The fourth Levis touchdown pass was with just under seven minutes to go in the game when he hit Nick Westbrook for a 33-yard score. The Titans won the game 28-23.
New England Native
Will Levis was born in Newton, Massachusetts. He lived in North Attleboro until the age of six, when his family moved to Madison, Connecticut. Levis attended Xavier High School in Middleton, CT, where he would go on to set passing records for the school. He is also an alumnus of the M2 QB Academy, which is a premier Quarterback development program in New England.
Levis’ college career is best known for what he did as the University of Kentucky quarterback. However, he spent his first three college seasons (redshirt freshman) playing for Penn State. Then Levis transferred to Kentucky in 2021. His draft stock fell a bit and Levis went lower than expected, being drafted in the second round, 33rd overall in 2023.
It appears this Massachusetts native landed in the right spot, though as ESPN reported Levis is likely to start again next week vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Nota-BULL
Boston-based, athletic performance brand NOBULL signed Levis to be one of their athletes earlier this year. NOBULL is Boston-based and also has Patriots quarterback Mac Jones on their roster.