A growing faith
Caleb Kelly grew up in the church, and his faith has grown at OU.
NORMAN — Caleb Kelly grew up in the church.
The Oklahoma linebacker spent most Sundays going with his mom and younger brother in Fresno, California.
And even if the Kellys weren’t up for attending service that weekend, a Sunday morning phone call from Caleb’s grandmother was sure to get the family out the door.
But it wasn’t until Caleb arrived at Oklahoma a year ago that he really grew in his faith — something his mom partially attributes to Mike Stoops and his incendiary brand of coaching.
“When you leave, you’re a big fish in a small pond,” said Caleb’s mom, Valerie. “And you go out to a big university where you think you’re going to start, and that’s not necessarily going to happen. I think that was a big, big awakening for him. That is what made him become a man and become closer to God.
“I thank Mike for that … He just was in his Bible after that.”
During a week when all eyes will be on OU’s defense to stop Oklahoma State’s offense and keep Sooner national title hopes alive, Caleb Kelly has to be on his game.
Before Caleb arrived in Norman as a five-star recruit, he’d never had a coach that yelled at him. Stoops’ coaching style, of course, was a big departure from that.
Suddenly, Caleb was 1,400 miles from home, in an unfamiliar environment without his familial support system, adapting to a drastically different kind of coach.
It was a learning experience for both player and coach. Stoops had to figure out how to effectively deliver his message to his player, and Caleb had to learn how to trust his coach.
“He was getting frustrated and you don’t want to take away their spirit,” Stoops said. “Because when you’re such a highly ranked player, all this is thrown on you.”
Concerned about her first-born, Valerie was ready to pack a bag and come out to Oklahoma. But she didn’t, instead allowing her son to work through his problems and find his inner strength.
That’s when Caleb picked up his Bible.
As he skimmed it, he landed on John 15:18.
“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.”
That’s when it all clicked. With the perspective he gained from the Bible, the tough coaching didn’t seem quite so critical and personal anymore.
“The world can hate you and it doesn’t matter because God loves you,” Caleb said. “No matter what goes on in the world, you have to know that God loves you, and it doesn’t matter what’s going on. You have him on your back and you’ve got him on your side and you’re good. No matter what.”
“The world can hate you and it doesn’t matter because God loves you ... No matter what goes on in the world, you have to know that God loves you, and it doesn’t matter what’s going on. You have him on your back and you’ve got him on your side and you’re good. No matter what.” Caleb Kelly
That moment was just the beginning of Caleb’s deeper understanding of religion — and his coaches.
He started to find his footing on the field, separating himself from other linebackers vying for the outside spot opposite of Ogbonnia Okoronkwo. By the end of his freshman season, Caleb had started the final six games, racking up 29 tackles.
“Now he understands the standard that I expect of him day in and day out,” Stoops said. “Now it’s just fun to watch and critique, because he wants to be great. He wants to be a great player. We’re developing him into a being a guy that needs to be on the field.”
There were plenty of critiques
earlier this season. Many of them, though, came from Caleb. While Stoops kept encouraging him, Caleb was hypercritical of his performances. He saw how good he could be in his Sugar Bowl performance, and he wanted to live up to that standard early on in his sophomore season.
So when he wasn’t instantly replicating that success, Caleb sank lower and lower, over-analyzing his shortcomings.
He knew he had to make a change. So again, he leaned on God.
“God’s in everything,” he said. “He controls everything. Every second is a blessing, and we don’t deserve any of it. So, I think just having that in the back of my head, I’m just blessed to be here and just leaning on that and leaning on him, just having fun like I said, that just pushed me.”
With that thought, Caleb
loosened up and started having fun again, beginning with the Texas win.
He didn’t play much, but he stayed involved on the sideline, dancing and pumping up his team. And when he did get in the game, he made a big fourth-down stop.
“I think that’s when I really woke up,” he said.
Since then, Caleb has continued to show off his play-making abilities, even grabbing an interception against Texas Tech.
He’s also continued to grow in his faith.
This year, he’s the president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He opens and closes the organization’s meetings, and works to bring even more people to the group.
He and his girlfriend, who still lives in California, read a chapter of the Bible to each other every night over the phone.
And when Valerie came
to visit earlier this year, Caleb made a point to take his mom Victory Family, his church in Norman.
“As a parent, to have a kid be that excited to take you to church, it’s pretty cool,” she said. “He loves the joy of the Lord. It makes him happy to see the spirit.”