Kelly making most of last ride with OU
NORMAN — Caleb Kelly has written down inspirational quotes for years.
Still has a piece of construction paper from well before he arrived at OU — and that’s been quite awhile now, as the linebacker is in his sixth season with the Sooners.
He also jots down his goals. Kelly has achieved plenty of those. Sometimes, though, things don’t go to plan.
Kelly didn’t anticipate being a college football player in 2019, much less 2021.
“He really thought he was going to be a three-and-out kid — three years in (college) and on his way,” his mother,
Valerie Kelly, said. “It doesn’t always go the way we want it to and Caleb’s learned that many times over.
“He had to change his goals, but he never gave up on them. He may have had to push them out, but they’re still there. And he still keeps pushing for better and better.”
The former five-star prospect from Fresno, California, has gone through coaching upheaval, from the transition from Bob Stoops to Lincoln Riley and then at defensive coordinator from Mike Stoops to Alex Grinch.
He’s twice torn his anterior cruciate ligament and missed significant time — all but four games of 2019 after the first tear and the entirety of 2020 with the second.
Kelly’s played pretty much every linebacker spot.
He’s gone from a starter as a freshman who seemed poised for greatness to being beaten out by a late bloomer to now, where he’s serving as a backup at rush linebacker to All-American candidate Nik Bonitto going into Saturday’s 6 p.m. home game against Western Carolina.
After all the changes and all the injuries, it would’ve been understandable if Kelly had decided to wrap up his college career elsewhere, getting a change of scenery after going through so much adversity.
But Kelly never seriously considered it.
A big part of that was wanting to prove something to and for his hometown.
Kelly was the fourth Sooners player from Fresno, joining Hatari Byrd, L.J. Moore and Michiah Quick.
None of the first three finished their eligibility with the Sooners, either transferring or being kicked off the team.
“When I was coming in it was kind of like, ‘You’re going to make or break Fresno. You’re going to save Fresno,’” Kelly said.
“I’ve held that in my heart this whole time being here. I’m really prideful about that to where I’ve got to make it through.
“I can’t just give up because things got hard.”
Instead of one degree when he leaves OU, Kelly is expected to have three — he’s scheduled to earn his second master’s degree at the end of this semester.
Valerie Kelly hasn’t necessarily been surprised with how her son has handled the rollercoaster ride of his Sooners career.
“He’s always been pretty positive,” Valerie said.
But last year, after suffering his second major knee injury, Valerie says she gained a new respect for her son.
“He was disappointed. Of course, I could hear that,” she said.
“The next thing I know, he’s in the meetings the same day ready to go like it’s nothing.
“I was really kind of shocked.”
As a veteran, Caleb Kelly wasn’t about to handle it any other way.
“I’d tell myself that there’s always somebody watching you,” he said. “Younger guys would actually come up to me and be like, ‘Bro, why are you smiling all the time? Why are you so happy all the time still? That dude is playing in your spot, why are you helping him out so much?’
“I can make the most of his opportunity in front of me no matter what’s going on. … It’s been a hard, hard process. It sucks to be hurt. It sucks to be out. It sucks to go from the top to the bottom and work your way back up. It’s hard but I think it’s made me a better person, for sure.”
That positive attitude Kelly has shown since he was a kid kept coming through loud and clear. It helped him not only get back to playing football, but getting back to work finishing what he started.
“He’s just like, ‘OK, let’s start climbing this mountain, because we’ve got to get up to the top so we can see the view,’” Valerie Kelly said.
That top might look a bit different than he expected, and certainly a bit later than he wanted, but there’s still plenty to enjoy.