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The NFL Draft is often one of the greatest moments of a football player’s life.
It’s the culmination of years of time and effort and hard work.
Unfortunately, for some players it can always be an absolutely devastating experience.
The 2023 NFL Draft proved to be a bit of both for former Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Will Levis.
Levis was one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2023 draft. He’s got a cannon of an arm and is a better athlete than many like to give him credit for.
For most of the draft cycle, analysts projected Levis to go within the top-10 picks of Thursday’s first-round. In fact, at one point it appeared that Levis could even go No. 1 overall to the Carolina Panthers.
That did not happen.
Instead, the Panthers selected Bryce Young of Alabama. Then the Houston Texas took CJ Stroud of Ohio State at No. 2. The Indianapolis Colts passed on Levis at No. 4 to select Anthony Richardson of Florida.
Thus began an agonizing free fall down the board.
Levis did not go at all in the first round, with a toe injury reportedly precipitating his move down the draft.
“Will Levis’ left toe that caused him to miss two games last year was ‘problematic’ for one team that considered him. Levis says the ‘toe has healed’ and is good to go. Another team believes Levis could manage it but thought surgery would need discussion after the season. Levis disagrees,” ESPN’s Chris Mortensen tweeted.
Mercifully, Levis came off the board with the second pick of the second round when the Tennessee Titans moved up to select him.
The Titans present an ideal fit for Levis. He can sit behind veteran Ryan Tannehill and learn while progressing in a run-heavy scheme.
Levis’ girlfriend Gia Duddy, who went viral on Instagram prior to the draft, seems to agree.
Duddy posted a photo on her Instagram reel story of her listening to the popular Morgan Wallen song “Tennessee Fan.”
She also captioned the photo “huge Tennessee fan” with a pair of blue and red hearts.
Though the fall was tough, tt appears that Levis and Duddy are all-in on their move to Nashville.