Levi Wentz has come a longer way than most. Anyone who makes the NFL is part of football\u2019s 1 percent, the tiny slice of players who ascend to the game\u2019s highest level. It wasn\u2019t long ago that Wentz was a lanky outside linebacker in a Group of Five conference. Or a little before that, a basketball player who always thought of, but never went out for, football.<\/p>\n
To ensure Wentz\u2019s football dreams weren\u2019t whimsical, his family, who adopted him early in childhood, gave him a test to prove he was serious.<\/p>\n
\u201cI approached my dad with the idea,\u201d he tells me in an interview last week. \u201cKind of kept bugging him about it. That was the end of my junior year. Going into that summer, he was like, if you really wanna do it, you gotta prove to me that you actually wanna do it. And this isn\u2019t just something like, I\u2019m bored, and I want something to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gave me the challenge of doing 100 push-ups in a row. Once I got 100 push-ups in a row, then he would let me play, ultimately. I think he said that with the thought that no way he is gonna do it. Every night before I went to bed, I would just add five on from the previous night. And then eventually, probably halfway through the summer, I hit 100. They couldn\u2019t stop me then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getting permission to play was step one. Learning the game was the next daunting task. Joining Pine-Richland\u2019s squad, he wanted to play wideout and score touchdowns. Not knowing the difference between a post and a corner route, coaches had other ideas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey [said], line up on the hash and run a post. I was like, \u2018Can you say it in English this time? Because I don\u2019t even know what you\u2019re talking about.\u2019 With the little amount of time I had to get ready for the season, receiver wasn\u2019t gonna work for me \u2019cause I just had too much to learn and not enough time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coaches moved him to cornerback and explained the position in relatable terms.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo guard this guy like it\u2019s basketball. So I was able to translate that. I had a really good corner coach and a really good head coach, Coach Kasperowicz, obviously. And then my corner coach, Brock Baranowski, they really helped me translate everything playing corner into like basketball terms. It\u2019s like moving your feet shuffling with him. Now, you\u2019re allowed to use your hands more. It really helped me click the way they were describing to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fast learner he was, Wentz helped lead Pine-Richland to the WPIAL finals before falling to Central Catholic. In that short time, Wentz got on college radars. Old Dominion was the final team to offer, and Wentz committed. He knew the school but not his position. He committed as a cornerback, was quickly moved to safety, and even spent a season as a lanky and miscast outside linebacker.<\/p>\n
Stuck on defense for his entire, albeit short, football career, Wentz used his basketball roots to make a full-court press for one more position change.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy last year at Old Dominion, I approached the head coach and said, I know you guys saw me as a defensive guy, but I\u2019ve always wanted to play receiver. I think my skill set translates to it the best. That position, just being able to go high point a ball like it\u2019s a rebound in basketball. Go dunk on somebody, basically. I approached him with that idea. He kinda threw me a bone \u2013 yeah, whatever, go have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Injuries pushed him into the lineup, and he caught his first pass, a 42-yard reception against South Alabama late in the year. A deep dig, a full circle moment from not knowing anything about the route tree a few years ago to making big plays on the field.<\/p>\n
Eager to find a team ready to fully embrace his wide receiver switch, Wentz transferred to the FCS school, Albany. There, he truly learned and understood the position. His first touchdown came in 2023, and his breakout year came the following season: 40 receptions for 621 yards and one touchdown. He nearly scored twice, tracked down at the 1-yard line against West Virginia.<\/p>\n
Wentz was still green to the position but felt ready to make the jump to college football\u2019s highest level, transferring to the Power Five and joining Kansas.<\/a> He hauled in only 16 passes but made them count with key scores against West Virginia, this time they wouldn\u2019t catch him, and Cincinnati.<\/p>\n