NASHVILLE, Tenn. — If you’ve ever tried typing the name “Will Levis” in any modern electronic device that automatically corrects spelling, you have had to deal with a pesky apostrophe that could take you back to the days when you bought school clothes.
Those of us who type his name often – and are about to type it at a much higher rate – are familiar with the name “Will Levi’s.” The jeans delivery guy. The stonewashed stallion. Or, and chalk this up to a Nashville sports radio caller who should try to monetize it as quickly as possible, that’s the man they call Billy Jeans. It’s a perfect nickname for a beginner NFL the quarterback who was particularly polarizing as a draft prospect because he functions as endearing. And it works as a mockery.
If Levis’ NFL debut is a sign of things to come, Nashville football fans will have to make it a song for him. Lévis was spectacular in the 28-23 victory against the Atlanta Falcons in front of 68,008 spectators at Nissan Stadium, overtaking the center stage for a franchise that has so much going on right now. Much of this is not encouraging. Levis just shoved everything onto page 2 in three crazy hours of fun.
“He was playing crazy.” Derrick Henri said of Kentucky’s rookie and second-round pick, whose stat line (19 of 29, 238 yards, four touchdowns, no picks, 130.5 rating) doesn’t quite do justice to the team’s results. eye test.
“He plays the game like he’s been here before,” said DeAndre Hopkinswho was on the other end of 128 of those passing yards and three of the touchdowns.
There’s nothing like prospect at this position to change the sentiment around an NFL team, and Levis delivered it to Tennessee Titans fans love the effortless deep, lofted balls he tossed into the air for three of the four scoring throws. There’s nothing like a real game as a tool for evaluating a young quarterback. College film, combined testing, interviews, rehearsals, meetings, film studies, locker room relationships, it all counts.
Add it all together and there is still nothing certain about how a quarterback will perform when a game plan is set up, an opposing game plan is in place, the pressure is on and that the guys from the other team are flying around, trying to deceive. him and hurt him.
“You can only learn it there,” said Titans coach Mike Vrabel, who called Levis’ performance “not a bad start” and “good” in terms of composure and decision making.
Vrabel usually downplays individual performances, good and bad, especially if that’s the main topic after a match. Additionally, this is a good time to remind everyone that the entire menu of possibilities remains in play for Levis’ NFL future, that many careers at the position started auspiciously en route to a thud .
The outlook should be ample in Nashville, given that eight years ago another No. 8 – Marcus Mariota – threw four touchdown passes and finished with a perfect passer rating of 158.3 in his rookie debut in Tampa Bay. Levis joins Mariota and Fran Tarkenton as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to debut with four touchdown passes. Titans fans can only hope that Levis is a lot more like the latter than the former.
Sunday doesn’t guarantee anything. Levis just filmed things for NFL defensive coordinators for the first time, and they tend to find things that can help them. He has ups and downs ahead and physical blows to endure. Still, I might suggest this to Titans fans who showed up at Nissan Stadium with “Levis” written on a strip and placed over “Mariota” on their old No. 8 jerseys: Save up for a new No. 8.
In fact, if you can afford it, consider a number 8 in the sweet Houston Oilers throwbacks that the Titans wore. Think about everything that was swirling around this franchise before this first look at the guy the Titans promoted to 33rd overall for the draft. On the plus side, these uniforms are some of the best in NFL history, and approximately 170 former Titans and Oilers players and coaches were in attendance for a reunion weekend.
On the negative side, let’s see: the Titans came in with a 2-4 record; they traded star safety and senior team leader Kevin Byard last week, although Vrabel refused to acknowledge that the 2-4 start had anything to do with it; former Titans star AJ Brown, who is one of the all-time wide receivers for a wide receiver in this league, told Byard he was “a winner now” when he arrived in Philly; Vrabel dove into an NFL Network report that Levis was going to start and spent much of the week selling a “two-quarterback approach” in this matchup with Levis and Malik Willis both replace the injured starter Ryan Tannehill, which seemed like a bad idea for middle school football; conflicting reports on the QB situation and trade rumors made it seem like the Titans had different people saying different things to different reporters, which is never a good sign; and the chatter surrounding Henry has Titans fans particularly concerned that his incredible run in Nashville could come to an abrupt end.
(By the way, don’t exhale one last time until Tuesday afternoon.)
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If you want to spread the negativity to the Levis world, he lined up just hours after his Kentucky Wildcats lost at home Saturday night to the Tennessee Volunteers. Titans and Vols fans were in some cases bitterly unhappy when the Titans drafted him instead of the UT quarterback who had a much better 2022 season on much better terms, Hendon Hooker.
Levis made all that secondary – and perhaps won over some Vols fans – with an impressive and encouraging performance. He led the Titans to their most points since the 2021 season. He made numerous checks on the line and ran the operation efficiently. He made quick decisions. He only put the ball in danger once, attempting to return it with pressure to the face.
The deep balls were effortless, touchdowns of 61 and 47 yards for Hopkins and 33 yards for Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. And there were others who just missed – one to Treylon Burks which was interrupted at the last second, another to Burks on which he could not get a second foot in bounds. Levis completed a perfect pass to Chig Okonkwo that was dropped, taking about 30 yards and a chance to score more points off the board. He found Hopkins for a 16-yard touchdown on a tight crossing route.
He looked like a seasoned veteran. Except when he celebrated, which made it more entertaining in front of more than 20 family and friends in the stands.
Levis was running around looking for hugs after a few touchdowns, like Jimmy Valvano after the 1983 NCAA basketball title game. He joined Hopkins for the “tree” yoga pose Hopkins favors after reaching the end zone. And then no doubt his best pass of the daythe flat-footed loft to Westbrook-Ikhine streaking from right to left and into a corner of the end zone, he stayed on his back a bit – mind you, Levis was there a lot after the Falcons sacked him four times and hit him 11 times.
He got up and did a few jumps with Nicolas Petit-Frère. He raced to find Westbrook-Ikhine, doing a few impromptu somersaults in the process. Once there, he reflected Westbrook-Ikhine’s vibrant tribute to franchise legend Billy “White Shoes” Johnson.
“We were like, ‘Yo, we just did that,’” Petit-Frère said of his words with Lévis after the touchdown. “It’s awesome. He’s young, I’m young, and it was like being back in college. He’s a great guy and it was so much fun. It’s really great to see him play like that.
Subsequently, Lévis returned to veteran mode. Unprompted, he brought up boos from fans as Willis took the field for two plays. On the first, Willis couldn’t get high enough for a bad snap and couldn’t jump on it before the Falcons did. On second, he had a 4-yard run. After the two, the boos were intense – and they were probably more aimed at Vrabel and the idea of using two quarterbacks. But it still came off as unnecessarily mean to Willis, and Henry and Hopkins mentioned it as well.
“There are a lot of guys who did their job today and won this game for us,” Lévis said. “I mean, (Willis) being one of them. Malik really, it left a bitter taste in all our mouths when we heard these boos when he arrived on the field. We have to know that he is going to play an important role in our progression to win matches. So let’s be correct next time as fans and treat it right.
That’s a bold statement for a rookie. But it was his day. The kind of day that foreshadowed other good days to come. If you’re a fan who wants to appease him, and maybe even make some money in this town full of songwriters, I’ve started a song for you:
Billy Jeans is not your quarterback.
He’s ours and he definitely should have gone in the first round.
Because the kid can pass and run.
(Top photo of Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Will Levis celebrating Levis’ fourth touchdown pass with a tribute to Billy “White Shoes” Johnson: Wade Payne / Associated Press)
