My Two Cents: Rookie Will Levis Ready For His First Taste of NFL Football

The Tennessee Titans moved up in the draft last April to take quarterback Will Levis in the second round. Their presumed quarterback of the future might make his first start on Sunday against Atlanta, and the rookie out of Kentucky said he's ready to go.

NASHVILLE — On the bye weekend before his life was about to change, Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Will Levis stayed in Nashville, hanging out with former Penn State teammate Nick Tarburton, who lives in Nashville now, too. 

"We just hung out and took it easy,'' Levis said in the Titans' locker room on Wednesday. "It was good to catch my breath for a little bit, and then it was right back to work.''

We don't know for certain yet, because Titans coach Mike Vrabel's coach-speak meter was off the charts on Wednesday, but it's looking very possible that Levis will get his first NFL start on Sunday. 

Vrabel made no such commitment, but many people are reporting that the Titans plan to start the former Kentucky star who started his college career at Penn State on Sunday when they take on the Atlanta Falcons at Nissan Stadium.

Veteran Ryan Tannehill has started the first six games for the 2-4 Titans, but he has a high ankle sprain sustained late in the Titans' Oct. 15 game against the Baltimore Ravens in London. Vrabel played the ''we'll see how Ryan feels'' card during his chat with the media on Wednesday before the Titans went out to practice, but Tannehill spoke to the media, too, and it doesn't sound like he's anywhere near ready to play football. Not yet, anyway.

Levis is ready. And even though second-year quarterback Malik Willis has been listed as the Titans' No. 2 quarterback all year and played in the fourth quarter after Tannehill went down, it looks like it's Levis — and not Willis — who will get the call to start on Sunday. Sources say that it's been Levis who's gotten the vast majority of first-team reps since coming home from London.

The Titans did a lot in practice from Tuesday through Thursday last week before guys took off for their bye week weekend. Levis said those practices were beneficial, getting to work with first-team receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks really for the first time since camp back in the summer. 

“Our bye week might look a little different than other teams because we stay in and get a lot of good work in,'' Levis said from his locker on Wednesday. "I think with the potential opportunity coming up, that was big for us to get those reps with guys that we haven’t been able to have too many with to this point. 

"It’s confidence building, for sure.”

Levis is itching to play, because it's been a while. He played two years at Kentucky after transferring from Penn State, and did a lot of good things, especially his junior year, when he had weapons and a good offensive line. He was a projected first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, but when he dropped to the second round, the Titans traded up to get him.

They're hoping he's the future. So does Levis. 

But it's all about the present right now, and Sunday should be the unveiling. He missed the last few weeks of training camp with a thigh injry, so he only saw game action for about half of the first preseason game in Chicago. Since then, he's just been preparing hard and waiting for an opportunity,

It looks like that opportunity is here.

“I'm just treating it like any other week,” Levis said. “Vrabel preaches that we prepare as starters every week, regardless of what position or opportunity we have. If my name gets called, I’ll be ready to go. It’s been a good week so far, and I've just got to keep building on what we're doing every day.

“I mean, this is what I love. I love football. I haven't been able to play it in a while. I'm excited to get out there and play if that's what needs to happen. We're preparing our tails off. It's nice to have an extra week of preparation with the bye week. So that helps. It's been enough to make me feel confident to go out there and play.''

Titans quarterback Malik Willis talks with the media on Wednesday :: Tom Brew/AllTitans

Malik Willis feels ready, too

Willis, the second-year man out of Liberty who started his college career at Auburn, was the one who got the call when Tannehill got hurt. It was a tough situation, trailing late in the game when the Ravens were in total pass-rush mode. He was sacked four times in nine pass attempts and the Titans lost 24-16.

Willis also got the call a year ago when Tannehill first had ankle issues. He played poorly as a rookie, and was even replaced by off-the-streets quarterback Joshua Dobbs for the final few games of the season. 

He had a lot of work to do in the offseason, and he's done it. He played basically every snap of the final two preseason games after Levis went down with a thigh injury, and did some good things. But he also had four bad interceptions, one each against Chicago and Minnesota, and two against New England.

But he keeps working, and still believes he can win games in the NFL.   

During the weekend, Willis went home to Georgia ''to get some unconditional love,'' Willis said. "Got a lot of good food, and a lot of good family time.''

He's back to work now, too. Vrabel has said ''both of them will play'' if Tannehill can't go Sunday, but we really have no clue what that means. Willis is preparing to play, as he always does. No matter how it plays out.

"I don't know what it will look like either,'' Willis said. "So we'll all see together. (Vrabel) told me to be ready to go and prepare as a starter. We're going to go out there and try to win a game. I feel a lot better prepared this year, with all of it.

"I've just tried to continue to improve every day with what the coaches have for me and getting better every day. That includes every aspect of playing this position at a high level. Last week was cool, getting to throw to guys we don't usually throw to. We got reps with guys we don't usually throw to.''

Ryan Tannehill continues to heal

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill met with the media as well. He had been in a boot since the injury, but walked to the podium on Wednesday in shoes and a compression sock on his right ankle.

"Everything's getting better. It's been a process, but I'm trending in the right direction and healing,'' Tannehill said. "I can notice a big difference every couple of days. It's a high ankle sprain, but it's a little different because I had the surgery. You have to be able to push off (on the ankle) and stay out of harm's way. That's all a part of it.''

Tannehill said he's still getting a lot of treatment, but also wants to stay engaged with preparations for Sunday. He wants to do all me can to get the others ready.

"A little bit of a combination,'' Tannehill said when asked about how he'll manage his time this week. "I'll get some treatment and make sure I do everything I can and then also, I want to stay engaged and into the game play with everything we're doing on the field. I want to stay on top of the game plan mentally and help to prepare those guys in meetings with the different looks that we'll see.'' 

Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill talks about his ankle injury on Wednesday before practice :: Tom Brew/AllTitans

Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill had a compression sock on during his media availability on Wednesday in Nashville :: Tom Brew/AllTitans

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