Caleb Kelly (American football)

Caleb Kanai Kelly (born March 28, 1998) is a former American football linebacker. He attended the University of Oklahoma from 2016 to 2022. As a senior at Clovis West High School in Fresno, California, Kelly won the 2015 Butkus Award given to the best linebacker in high school.^[1]

Caleb Kelly

Position	Linebacker
Personal information
Born:	(1998-03-28) March 28, 1998 (age 26) Fresno, California, U.S.
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight	229 lb (104 kg)
Career history
College	Oklahoma (2016–2021)
Bowl games	2017 Sugar Bowl 2018 Rose Bowl 2019 Peach Bowl 2021 Alamo Bowl
High school	Fresno (CA) Clovis West
Career highlights and awards
Freshman All-American (2016) High School Butkus Award (2015) USA Today All-American (2015)
Stats at ESPN

High school career

Kelly played his whole high school career at Clovis West High School which is located in Fresno, California, He was a two-way player, playing wide receiver and running back on offense and linebacker on defense. While playing wide receiver in his junior and senior year at Clovis West High School he recorded 94 receptions for 1319 yards. As a senior on defense, he recorded 79 tackles and 10.0 sacks.^[2]

Recruitment

Kelly received numerous offers from top programs in the country including the Michigan Wolverines, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Alabama Crimson Tide, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, Ohio State Buckeyes, Stanford Cardinal, USC Trojans and the Oklahoma Sooners. Kelly committed to the Oklahoma Sooners on national signing day.^[3][4][5]

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Caleb Kelly LB	Fresno, California	Clovis West High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	229 lb (104 kg)	-	Feb 3, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 85
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 3 (LB); 2 (West); 2 (CA)   Rivals: 2 (LB); 14 (Natl); 3 (CA)  247Sports: 68 (Natl); 6 (LB); 9 (CA)  ESPN: 7 (LB); 3 (West); 2 (CA)
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Oklahoma Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 13, 2016. "2016 Oklahoma Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved April 13, 2016. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 13, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved April 13, 2016. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 13, 2016.

College career

Freshman

Kelly played as a true freshman at Oklahoma, and was named a Freshman All-American by Pro Football Focus, Kelly played in ten games and started in five of them. He recorded, 24 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1.0 sack and had 1 pass breakup.^[6]

Sophomore

In Kelly's sophomore year he played in 13 games and starting in 12 of them. Kelly recorded a total of 52 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, 1.0 sack, 1 forced fumble and 2 pass breakups. Kelly was named as an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention by the league's coaches.^[7]

Junior

Kelly played in 12 games, while only starting in five. Ranked fourth on team with 61 tackles. Recorded 3.0 sacks and had 2.0 forced fumbles.

Senior

Kelly missed the first 10 games of the season, due to an ACL tear, before playing in the final four, including a loss to LSU in the CFP semifinal Peach Bowl in December 2019.

Redshirt senior

In August 2020, Kelly again tore his ACL and was expected to miss the entire season.^[8] He is expected to return for a medical redshirt senior season in 2021.^{[citation needed]}

Medical redshirt senior

Played in the first 5 games of the season recording 18 total tackles before suffering a career ending, third knee injury.^[9]

Other activities

Kelley returned to his hometown of Fresno to participate in a protest for racial justice in June 2020 after the murder of George Floyd.^[10]

References

1. "Clovis West's Caleb Kelly wins Butkus Award as nation's top prep linebacker". Fresno Bee. December 17, 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
2. "Caleb Kelly | Clovis West HS, Fresno, CA". MaxPreps. November 20, 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
3. "Caleb Kelly, Oklahoma, Outside Linebacker". 247sports.com. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
4. "Caleb Kelly, Clovis West, Outside Linebacker". 247sports.com. January 6, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
5. Caleb Kelly. "Caleb Kelly Recruit Interests". 247sports.com. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
6. "Caleb Kelly Bio - Oklahoma Sooners". Soonersports.com. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
7. "Caleb Kelly Bio - Oklahoma Sooners". Soonersports.com. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
8. "Reports: Caleb Kelly suffers another serious knee injury".
9. "Oklahoma LB Caleb Kelly at Peace with Abrupt End to Sooners Career; 'It is What it is'".
10. "Athletes' voices resonate as protests continue in Fresno and throughout central Valley". Fresno Bee. June 6, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.