Falcons Visit: 'Have You Seen His Arm?' Inside Kentucky QB Will Levis' Persona - 'Mayonnaise in his Coffee'?!

Kentucky quarterback Will Levis puts mayonnaise in his coffee and eats bananas with the peel still on. Per teammate Chris Rodriguez, Levis is "unlike any other person I've ever met" - and the Atlanta Falcons are poised to see exactly during a visit ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Former Kentucky running back Chris Rodriguez stood at the podium and laughed before repeating the question: Why should I draft Will Levis to be my quarterback?

After spending two years together in Lexington, Rodriguez knows what makes Levis tick as well as anybody ... and responded with a question of his own.

"Have you seen his arm?"

But that's largely just the surface of understanding what Levis, who has a self-proclaimed "cannon," is all about - something the Atlanta Falcons will aim to do Thursday when the former Wildcats star takes an official top-30 visit to headquarters.

In advance of that, SI's Falcon Report did the same - speaking with a pair of Levis' Kentucky teammates and an opponent to learn more.

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Rodriguez was sitting in the cafeteria eating and watching television with teammates when Levis, a Penn State transfer who he hadn't yet met, appeared on the screen.

The topic at hand? Not football. Instead, it was Levis' infatuation with putting mayonnaise in his coffee, which has since gone viral.

Have you ever had Mayonnaise with your morning coffee?@UKFootball QB @will_levis is known to dabble w/ said combo 😳 pic.twitter.com/ZuR92Toa4m

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) July 20, 2022

Rodriguez, who didn't get into drinking coffee until the year after, managed to avoid the mayo craze, stressing "no" four times when asked if he's ever tried it.

Disgust aside, Rodriguez views it as something specific to Levis' - which only adds to the intrigue of his persona.

"I'm like 'Bro, what are you doing?'" said Rodriguez of the mayo-loaded coffee. "But Will's a character ... Will's different - he's not like everybody else, like even the banana thing."

That "banana thing" is a topic of its own.

Shortly after being named Kentucky's starting quarterback prior to the 2021 season, Levis posted a video on Tik Tok of himself eating a banana ... with the peel still fully on.

Just like the mayo in coffee, it's simply a part of the lovable odd-ball approach that Levis has mastered.

And while the outside perception may not be the most positive, Rodriguez took a broad approach in his sales pitch to evaluators.

"That's my quarterback - he can do all that stuff, try to stop him," Rodriguez said.

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When Rodriguez first met Levis, his mind didn't turn to the mayo or bananas - nor did it click that it was who he was going to be taking handoffs from that fall.

"Will, when I first met him, I didn't know that was our quarterback - I thought it was a tight end," said Rodriguez. "Man is huge. He looks like a tight end."

Levis, who stands 6-4, 229 pounds, wouldn't be that far off from the modern-day tight end. Instead, he's standing tall in pockets and throwing bullets all over the field at such a high level that he could be selected in the top-five of April's draft.

As is the case with nearly every prospect (and especially quarterbacks), Levis has his detractors - but also plenty of fans, including NFL decision-makers.

For those not yet sold, Rodriguez recommends looking back at Kentucky's 52-21 victory over rival Louisville in Nov. 2021, in which Levis completed 14 of 18 passes for 149 yards while adding 113 yards and four touchdowns on just 14 carries.

"You go back and watch that game, that's enough right there," Rodriguez said. "I feel like Will has everything you're looking for."

However, not everyone was as impressed with Levis as Rodriguez.

Earlier in that 2021 season, Kentucky defeated Chattanooga 28-23 as Levis went 23 of 35 for 254 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions and a fumble while rushing for only 18 yards.

Mocs defensive tackle Devonnsha Maxwell finds Levis to be a solid player - but maybe not to the level that Rodriguez and other Wildcats may speak of.

"He's pretty decent," Maxwell told SI's Falcon Report. "Pro style quarterback. Nothing crazy."

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Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot (whose team already employs young QB Desmond Ridder) was asked at the NFL Combine why so many successful college quarterbacks struggle transitioning to the NFL.

The answer?

"I think it's who they are, because that's what's really going to set that ceiling," Fontenot said. "They all have talents, and they all have good skill sets. But once they get in the NFL, there's a lot of other external pressures and a lot of things these young men have to deal with ...

"And so I think you have to hit on the makeup and make sure you're bringing in the right types of individuals with the right intention."

It's here where Levis' teammates have the greatest insight; they were around him each day, and when times grew tough, saw how he responded.

These experiences taught Kentucky corner Carrington Valentine quite a bit about Levis - and instilled the belief that he'll have a "successful" pro career, stretching far beyond the "cannon" arm and tight end-esque build.

"The way he approaches the game is very professional," Valentine said. "Everyone talks about the arm talent, but no one talks about his preparation to the game. I see him around the facility all the time. So, I just feel like him being in there, day in, day out, good team leader.

"I feel like he'll be a good one."

Levis battled through an injury-riddled 2022 season to complete 65 percent of his passes for 2,406 yards, 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions across 11 games, all down from the year before.

But instead of opting out or taking an extended rehab, Levis rushed back for his team, as one would expect from a "good team leader" and two-time captain.

Instances like this are why Fontenot stresses getting to know players as individuals - and even moreso why it's critical to look past the box score when it comes to quarterback evaluation.

So, what will the Falcons, who own pick No. 8 in Round 1 of this NFL Draft, find when digging into Levis? Rodriguez explained ...

"You sit down, you talk to Will, you get to meet him, you get to know him, he's honestly a cool dude," Rodriguez said. "He's unlike any other person I've ever met."

By nature of the mayo-flavored coffee and unpeeled bananas, Levis fits the bill - but it expands far beyond that.

The 23-year-old Levis hails from the Northeast. His father, uncle and grandfather all played football while his mother starred on the soccer field; Will also dabbled in baseball.

Away from sports, Levis became a fixture in the Lexington community, organizing cameos, autograph signings and volunteer events for he and his teammates.

He's "cool" and "different" - and was extremely highly thought of inside Kentucky's locker room.

"On different teams, people have their different cliques and they have their friends or whatever - Will is in a clique, he has everybody," Rodriguez said. "Everybody loves Will, Will loves everybody, and no matter what, he cares for everybody.

"If you want to get better, talk to Will - I'm trying to tell you all."

And really, it's this - the leadership, the love from teammates, the community outreach, the week-long preparation, the "cannon" of an arm, the tight end frame - that matters to Levis' future.

Sure, the mayo and banana implications are different ... but so is he.

Now, Levis aim to show the same to evaluators, searching to prove there's truly nobody quite like him.

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You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft

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