Will Levis, His NFL Career, Stats, and 2024 Season Outlook

Quick Answer

Will Levis is the starting quarterback for the Tennessee Titans, drafted by the team in 2023 after a college career that began at Penn State and finished at Kentucky. Through the 2024 season, Levis has shown flashes of high-level arm talent but has struggled with consistency, turnovers, and injuries, appearing in 21 games over his first two NFL seasons.

His 2024 campaign was cut short by a shoulder injury, and the Titans' coaching staff has publicly stated he remains the starter when healthy.

Key Facts

Full name: William Donovan Levis, born June 27, 1999
College path: Played at Penn State before transferring to the University of Kentucky (2021–2022)
Draft: Selected by the Tennessee Titans in the 2023 NFL Draft
2024 season: Appeared in 12 games, starting nine fully
Career totals (through 2024): 21 passing touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 21 games
Rushing production: Limited — 240 career rushing yards and one touchdown
Injury history: Suffered a shoulder injury in a Monday night game against the Dolphins during the 2024 season
Coaching stance: Titans head coach Brian Callahan stated Levis is the starting quarterback when healthy
Notable highlight: Threw the longest touchdown pass of the 2024 NFL season — a 98-yarder to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine

From Penn State Backup to Kentucky Starter

Will Levis's path to the NFL was not a straight line. He began his college career at Penn State, where he committed as a three-star recruit out of Xavier High School in Connecticut.

His high school career was notable enough to draw attention — one local profile described him as "nothing normal" — but he arrived in State College behind an established starter and spent most of his early tenure as a backup. During the 2019 season, Levis began taking first-team reps in practice, and reports out of the program noted that he was benefiting from the increased workload.

Still, opportunities to start were limited. Rather than wait indefinitely, Levis made the transfer decision that would define his trajectory: he moved to the University of Kentucky for the 2021 season.

The transfer paid off. At Kentucky, Levis got the opportunity to play meaningful snaps against SEC competition, and his performance there — particularly his arm strength and ability to make throws downfield — caught the attention of NFL scouts.

His college career concluded after the 2022 season, and he entered the 2023 NFL Draft as one of the more intriguing quarterback prospects in his class, combining prototypical size with a powerful arm. What is striking about Levis's college journey is how much of it was shaped by patience.

He did not arrive at Kentucky as a polished, finished product. He arrived as a player who needed reps, needed a system that fit his skill set, and needed a coaching staff willing to let him play through mistakes.

That pattern — flashes of brilliance mixed with inconsistency — would follow him into the NFL.

The 2024 Season A Year of Extremes

The Good Arm Talent on Display

The 2024 season was Levis's second in the NFL and his first under head coach Brian Callahan, who took over the Titans in the offseason. For anyone watching Levis play, the arm talent was undeniable.

He can make throws that most NFL quarterbacks simply cannot — deep outs, seam throws, and vertical shots that require both velocity and touch. The single most memorable moment of Levis's 2024 season came in Week 11 against the Indianapolis Colts, when he connected with wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for a 98-yard touchdown pass.

At the time, it was the longest touchdown pass of the entire NFL season. That play was a microcosm of what makes Levis an intriguing player: the ability to change a game in one snap, from his own end zone to the opponent's in a matter of seconds.

The Bad Turnovers and Inconsistency

The flip side of that arm talent was a persistent turnover problem. Levis finished his first two NFL seasons with 16 interceptions in 21 games — a rate that puts him near the top of the league in interception percentage.

His decision-making in the pocket was often erratic, particularly when pressure arrived. He showed a tendency to force throws into tight windows that were better left uncounted, and his processing speed on certain looks lagged behind what NFL defenses showed him.

The 2024 season also saw Levis miss time with injury. A shoulder injury suffered in a Monday night game against the Miami Dolphins forced him out of the lineup for multiple weeks.

The Titans listed him as a full participant on the injury report as he worked his way back, and he did return to action later in the season. But the missed time was costly — both for his development and for the Titans' already-struggling season.

The Numbers Tell a Complicated Story

Looking strictly at Levis's career statistics through 2024, the picture is mixed. Twenty-one passing touchdowns against 16 interceptions is roughly a 1.3-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio — a figure that is below the league average for starting quarterbacks.

His rushing production was minimal: 240 yards and one touchdown on the ground. He was not the kind of mobile quarterback who could compensate for passing inconsistency with designed runs or scramble yards.

What the statistics do not capture is the context. The Titans' offensive line was nowhere near league average in 2024.

The receiving corps was young and inconsistent. The play-calling under a first-year head coach was still being installed.

Levis was not playing in an environment designed to maximize a young quarterback's success — he was playing in an environment that was still figuring out its own identity. That is not to excuse the turnovers.

NFL quarterbacks are evaluated on results, not on circumstances. But it is to say that the raw numbers understate both the ceiling and the floor of what Levis showed.

The ceiling is a quarterback who can beat any defense on the field with his arm. The floor is a quarterback who gives the ball away at a rate that makes winning consistently almost impossible.

The Coaching Vote of Confidence and What Comes Next

Callahan's Public Stance

One of the most significant data points for Levis's future came from the man who will ultimately determine his fate. Brian Callahan, the Titans' head coach, made his position clear: "When Will Levis is healthy, he's our starting quarterback."

That statement, delivered during the 2024 season while Levis was recovering from his shoulder injury, carried real weight.

Coaches sometimes hedge when asked about their quarterback situation. Callahan did not.

He identified Levis as the starter, not as a player competing for a job or as a placeholder until something better comes along. That is the kind of backing that matters for a young quarterback's confidence and for his standing in the locker room.

Of course, public statements are not contracts. NFL coaching staffs change their minds, and front offices make decisions based on a range of factors that extend beyond what a coach says to the media.

But the vote of confidence was notable for its clarity and its timing — delivered while Levis was injured, not after a big win.

The Development Track

For Levis, the path forward is about improvement in specific areas rather than wholesale reinvention. The physical tools are not the question.

The question is whether he can improve his decision-making under pressure, reduce the turnover rate, and stay healthy enough to get the reps he needs. The Titans' approach during the 2024 season suggested an organization that believes in Levis's long-term potential but is also realistic about where he is right now.

He was listed as a full participant on the injury report as he recovered — a sign that the medical staff saw his return as a matter of when, not if. The team's communications staff produced features about him building confidence and remaining confident while working to get better — narratives that suggest the organization wants to project stability around its young quarterback.

There are legitimate historical precedents for quarterbacks who struggled early and then turned things around. There are also precedents for quarterbacks who never stopped turning the ball over.

Levis's career is at a crossroads, and the 2025 season — his third in the league and second full year in Callahan's system — will be the clearest indicator yet of which direction he is heading.

What He Needs to Prove

The most important thing Levis needs to demonstrate is not arm strength — that is already established. It is consistency.

Can he go multiple games without a multi-turnover performance? Can he learn to take the checkdown when the deep shot is not there?

Can he stay on the field for a full 17-game season? The 98-yard touchdown pass was a highlight.

The shoulder injury was a setback. The turnovers were a problem.

What comes next will determine whether Levis is remembered as a quarterback who found his footing or as a talented player who never quite put it together.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was Will Levis's college career like?

Levis began at Penn State, where he was a backup and took first-team reps in practice during the 2019 season. He transferred to the University of Kentucky for the 2021 season, where he became the starter and played through the 2022 season before entering the NFL Draft.

What were Will Levis's statistics in his first two NFL seasons?

Through the 2024 season, Levis appeared in 21 games and totaled 21 passing touchdowns with 16 interceptions. He added 240 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown over that same span.

Why did Will Levis miss time during the 2024 season?

Levis suffered a shoulder injury during a Monday night game against the Miami Dolphins. He went through rehabilitation and was later listed as a full participant on the injury report before returning to practice.

Is Will Levis still the Titans' starting quarterback?

Titans head coach Brian Callahan stated during the 2024 season that Levis is the starting quarterback when healthy. No changes to that status were announced through the end of the 2024 season.

What was Will Levis's biggest highlight of the 2024 season?

Levis threw a 98-yard touchdown pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine against the Colts in November 2024, which was the longest touchdown pass of the NFL season at the time.

Reference Notes

Information in this article is based on publicly available sources. Some details may change over time.

Verify with official sources before acting.

Related Buying Guides