2023 NFL Draft: Kentucky QB Will Lewis set to announce he’s not sure he can play in Wildcats bowl game

Kentucky defender Will Lewis said on Wednesday that he plans to declare for 2023 The NFL draft after five years college football. Lewis technically has one season of college eligibility remaining, but is considered a likely first-round draft pick after two years as the Wildcats’ starting quarterback.

Lewis made the discovery in a Spaces Twitter chat with the blue chips of Great Britain, saying “my intentions are to get drafted after this season.” The Wildcats finished the 2022 regular season 7-5 with Lewis as the starting quarterback. The Pension state transfer completed 185 of 283 passes for 2,406 yards with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season while playing through injuries.

Although Lewis has his sights set on moving on to the next level, he has not yet decided if he will play in Kentucky’s championship game.

“I’ve been talking to the coaches and people around me that I’ve needed over the last couple of days,” Lewis said. “I will make a decision soon, but nothing final.” The WildCats should find out their destination on Sunday.

A former three-star prospect, Lewis spent the first three seasons of his college career playing sparingly at Penn State. He redshirted as a true freshman in 2018 and played primarily as a backup over the next two seasons before transferring to Kentucky after the 2020 season. He immediately earned the starting job and completed 66% of his passes for 2,826 yards with 24 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, leading the Wildcats to a 10-3 mark in 2021.

Draft forecasts

Lewis is considered the No. 3 defensive player in the rankings CBS Sports 2023 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings behind Alabama Bryce Young and of Ohio State CJ Stroud. However, Young, Stroud and Lewis are considered top five prospects in the rankings, so Lewis could have a chance to be the starting quarterback.

“I know I can be, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to make it happen,” Lewis said. “I hope so, and I just want to go out there and prove to everyone else that I am too.”

In his last NFL mock draftCBS Sports NFL draft writer Chris Trapasso has Levis taken No. 6 overall by the Carolina Panthers.

“Lewis didn’t build on a stellar 2021, but he has all the traits teams want in their franchise quarterbacks today,” Trapasso wrote. “He could compete with Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield in Year 1 for the starting gig.”

What’s next for Kentucky’s QB room?

Although Levis’ departure was widely expected, the succession plan for the position is not very clear. With Lewis missing time due to injury this season, the redshirt freshman Kaya Sharon The former three-star prospect from Somerset, Ky., completed 15 of 27 passes for 178 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in UK’s loss to South Carolina October 8.

Other quarterbacks on this year’s roster include true freshmen Destin Wade and Iowa transmission Deuce Hogan, a third-year sophomore and former three-star prospect in his first season with the program after two years as a reserve with the Hawkeyes. Kentucky does not have a quarterback participating in the 2023 recruiting class.

Head coach Mark Stoops fired offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello after just one season, and depending on who he brings in, that could make the Wildcats a transfer quarterback destination. Levis has shown that with the right system, the UK can be a place where transfer defenders can take their games to the next level.