William Donovan Levis (LEV-is; born June 27, 1999) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and Kentucky Wildcats before being selected by the Tennessee Titans in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft.
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Early life
Levis was born on June 27, 1999, in Newton, Massachusetts, and grew up in Madison, Connecticut. He attended Xavier High School in Middletown, Connecticut, where he set school records as a senior for passing touchdowns with 27 and passing yards with 2,793. Levis committed to Pennsylvania State University to play college football.
College career
Penn State
Levis attended Pennsylvania State University from 2018 to 2020. After redshirting his first year, Levis spent the next two as Sean Clifford's backup. Levis made his first career start against Rutgers in 2019, completing eight of 14 passes for 81 yards with a touchdown and an interception with 108 rushing yards.
At Penn State, Levis completed 61-of-102 passes for 644 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also rushed for 473 yards and six touchdowns.
Kentucky
Levis transferred to the University of Kentucky in 2021, after having graduated that May with a bachelor's degree in finance from Penn State's Smeal College of Business. He was named the starter to open the season and threw for 367 yards and four touchdowns in his first start. Levis started all 13 games for Kentucky, completing 233-of-353 passes for 2,827 yards and 24 touchdown passes while rushing for 376 yards and nine touchdowns on 107 carries. He led the team to a victory over No. 15 Iowa in the 2022 Citrus Bowl.
Professional career
Tennessee Titans
Despite initially being projected as a first-round pick, even being rumored to go first overall just days before the draft, Levis surprisingly fell to the second day of the 2023 NFL draft, where the Tennessee Titans traded up to select him with the 33rd overall pick in the second round. On July 23, 2023, Levis signed a four-year, $9,542,165 contract with a $3,939,756 signing bonus.
Levis began the season as the third-string quarterback behind starter Ryan Tannehill and Malik Willis.
On October 29, 2023, with Tannehill sidelined by an ankle injury, Levis made his NFL debut and first start, finishing with 238 passing yards and four touchdowns during a 28–23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. The following week, Levis made his second start against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night Football, throwing for 262 yards and an interception in the 20–16 road loss.
On November 7, 2023, head coach Mike Vrabel announced that Levis would be the starting quarterback for the Titans moving forward. On December 11, Levis threw for 327 yards, a touchdown, and an interception as the Titans narrowly beat the Miami Dolphins on the road. The Titans trailed by 14 points with 2:49 remaining in the game, but Levis led back-to-back scoring drives to push the Titans ahead by a score of 28–27. This marked his first career 300-yard passing game.
Levis finished his rookie year with 1,808 passing yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions in nine games and starts.
Levis became the Titans' starting quarterback in 2024 following the departures of Tannehill and Willis, with newly signed Mason Rudolph named as backup. Levis began the season with a rocky start, going 1–4 during his first five games while completing 86 of 125 passes for 699 yards, five touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Levis led the league in total turnovers during this period, including one that notably went viral of Levis on his knees with his hands on his head after throwing an interception that blew a fourth quarter lead against the Chicago Bears in the season opener.
During a Week 4 31–12 victory over the Miami Dolphins, Levis injured his AC joint after diving on a third down and was relieved by Rudolph. Although Levis was cleared after a Week 5 bye and played in the Week 6 20–17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, he was sidelined again for the next three games after re-aggravating the injury.
Career statistics
Personal life
Levis' father, Mike, played football at Denison University, an NCAA Division III school in Ohio, while his mother, Beth Kelley, was a two-time All-American soccer player at Yale. Levis' great-grandfather, Alva Kelley, was an All-American football player at Cornell University and later a head coach for three college teams. Levis graduated from Penn State's Smeal College of Business with a bachelor's degree in finance.
Levis gained media attention in the build-up to the 2023 NFL draft for his strange eating and drinking habits, most notably eating unpeeled bananas and drinking coffee with mayonnaise. On August 22, 2023, Levis announced that he had signed a lifetime supply contract of Hellmann's mayonnaise. In August 2024, Hellmann's announced that it was creating a fragrance inspired by Levis named "Will Levis No. 8, Parfum de Mayonnaise".
On May 27, 2026, Levis' mother revealed that her son had paid an "exorbitant" amount of money to have video of him sharing intimate moments with his then-girlfriend removed from the internet. According to Beth, Eastern European hackers obtained access to Levis' phone when he was in college.
Levis was previously in a long-term relationship with Gia Duddy, who went viral during the 2023 NFL Draft. Following their split, he was briefly linked to reality TV personality Victoria Fuller
Levis was in a relationship with Kaley Champion throughout 2025 and 2026. Following his season-ending shoulder surgery in July 2025, Kaley Champion lived with Levis to assist with his post-operative rehab in California.