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Todd Kelly Jr. has orange blood running through his veins.
The son of former Tennessee captain and All-SEC linebacker Todd Kelly Sr., Kelly has literally grown up with the Vols. Following the end of his father’s professional career, Kelly’s family moved back to Knoxville, where he eventually attended Webb High School. As a four-star safety and starting running back, Kelly led the Spartans to a Division II-A State Championship and was named Gatorade State Player of the Year for Tennessee in 2013.
It came as little surprise that the four-star prospect decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and sign with the hometown Vols. Kelly is one of seven legacy freshmen on Tennessee’s current roster with family ties to Tennessee athletics.
A bigger surprise may be the immediate impact that Kelly has made on Tennessee’s defense. The blue chip safety made his debut in the Vols’ opening game and finished with two tackles and a fumble recovery that set up the team’s second touchdown of the season. Kelly made his first career start at strong safety this past weekend against Arkansas State and recorded five tackles.
“I thought Todd did some great things,” head coach Butch Jones said during his weekly press conference. “Again, playing in his second career game where what they did offensively challenges your overall discipline, your eye discipline, your ability to play in space. For the most part, I thought Todd did a good job. He should gain tremendous confidence in moving forward from that football game. I was very encouraged by what I saw in Todd Kelly Jr.’s performance.”
Kelly was one of the 21 freshmen to make an appearance in Tennessee’s opening game. But as far as the bigger picture goes, he is one of the metaphorical bricks laid to the foundation of Jones’ rebuilding process. The Knoxville native and second-generation Volunteer was one of the first “big gets” of Tennessee’s top-5 2014 recruiting class. Moving forward, Kelly will play a major role in restoring the glory of Tennessee football. Many expect Tennessee to see a turnaround once the talented 2014 class has more in-game experience. However, if his first two games are any indication, it won’t take long for Kelly to make an impact in Knoxville.
A former freelance journalist from Nashville, Jason covers Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky
