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 by Elvis
5 years 10 months ago
 Total posts:   38381  
 Joined:  Mar 28 2015
United States of America   Los Angeles
Administrator

Dane Brugler:

JOHN KELLY | Tennessee 5097 | 216 lbs. | JR. Detroit, Mich. (Oak Park) 10/4/1996 (age 21.6) #4

BACKGROUND: A three-star athlete recruit out of high school, John Kelly Jr. was a three-year starter at Oak Park (suburb of Detroit) and made an impact in all three phases as a running back, cornerback and return man. As a senior he rushed for 1,321 yards and collected 25 total touchdowns (five different ways) to be a finalist for the Michigan High School Player of the Year Award in 2014. Ranked as a top-10 recruit in the state of Michigan, Kelly spurned offers from in-state powers like Michigan and Michigan State, committing to Tennessee as a running back. He was the third-string running back as a true freshman (behind Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara) and rushed for 165 yards and one touchdown. Kelly started the 2016 season as the third back on the depth chart, but his touches increased after Hurd left the team midseason, leading all Tennessee running backs with 630 yards and 6.4 yards per carry (Kamara: 596 yards, 5.8 yards per carry in 2016). With Kamara to the NFL, Kelly was the Vols’ starter and led the team with 778 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, adding 37 receptions for 299 yards. He left early for the NFL Draft.

YEAR (GP/GS) CAR YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD
2015: (10/0) 40 165 4.1 1 0 0 0.0 0
2016: (12/1) 98 630 6.4 5 6 51 8.5 0
2017: (11/11) 189 778 4.1 9 37 299 8.1 0
Total: (33/12) 327 1,573 4.8 15 43 350 8.1 0
HT WT ARM HAND WING 40-YD 20-YD 10-YD VJ BJ SS 3C BP
COMBINE 5097 216 31 3/8 09 3/8 76 - - - 35 10’00” 4.51 7.13 15 (also worked out at wide receiver)
PRO DAY 4.64 2.69 1.58 - - 4.22 - -

STRENGTHS: Highly competitive tackle breaker…compact build and balanced feet to bounce off contact…legs are always pumping and never content as a runner…sharp plant-and-go quickness with lateral mobility…decisive at the line of scrimmage…secures the football with only three career fumbles – put the ball on the ground only once in 2017…aggressive blocker and won’t back down at the point of attack…workhorse mentality, averaging 20.5 offensive touches per game in 2017…dependable receiving traits to be a catch-and-go threat with potential to be more than simply a screen target…tied for the team-lead in catches in 2017…team captain who connects well with his teammates and carries himself like an alpha.

WEAKNESSES: Lacks ideal size and body armor for the position…not graceful through small creases…lacks wiggle in the open field…tunnel vision and late to locate developing lanes…can be caught from behind and lacks a finishing gear…limited juice around the corner…exposes his body to excessive impact and shelf-life might be a concern…willing in pass protection, but prefers to ram/slow instead of using his hands to engage/control…off-field decision-making requires homework after he was pulled over for a busted headlight and cited for misdemeanor marijuana possession and failure to provide proof of insurance (Oct. 2017) – served a one-game suspension, which he accepted, calling his mistake “immature and selfish.”

SUMMARY: A one-year starter at Tennessee, Kelly was one of the few offensive bright spots for the Volunteers in 2017, producing steady numbers despite little help from the passing game. With only six career receptions entering his junior year, he proved his worth as a pass-catcher as the only player in 2017 from a power-five conference to lead his team in rushing yards and receptions. A fearless ballcarrier, Kelly runs with forceful momentum and tacklers better finish him to the ground because he won’t let them off easy – credits his balance and courage to his days as an accomplished skateboarder in high school. He is athletically average by NFL standards and lacks creativity/wiggle in tight quarters. Overall, Kelly is a competitive, full-speed-ahead ballcarrier with the contact balance, toughness and receiving/blocking traits that project him as a reliable horse in the backfield.

GRADE: 4th Round

 by SDRamman
5 years 10 months ago
 Total posts:   88  
 Joined:  Aug 14 2016
United States of America   Escondido, CA
Practice Squad

From SBNation
Why new Rams RB John Kelly is the new Alvin Kamara, no matter how he pans out
Kelly is on a nearly identical track to his Tennessee predecessor.

Update: The Rams took John Kelly with the second pick of the sixth round.

INDIANAPOLIS — Over the last two seasons, these things have stuck out about Tennessee’s football program: general disappointment, fans wanting the Volunteers to hire Jon Gruden, and a star running back emerging while everything crumbled around him.

In 2016, it was Alvin Kamara. He started the year No. 2 on the Vols’ depth chart behind someone named Jalen Hurd, who was six inches taller but clearly not better. The 5’10 Kamara didn’t make his first start until the Vols’ sixth game. He had 18 carries for 127 yards and two touchdowns that day, and he didn’t give the job back except for two weeks missed with injuries. UT collapsed down the strech, but Kamara finished at 5.8 yards per carry.

In 2017, it was John Kelly. The 5’9, 216-pounder is built like a cut bowling bowl. Kelly started for the Vols all season, after Hurd transferred and Kamara declared for the NFL draft. In the starting job , Kelly didn’t set the world on fire statistically. He finished at 4.1 yards per carry, with nine touchdowns and 778 total rushing yards in 11 games. He added 299 receiving yards on a solid-for-Tennessee 6.4 yards per target, but his numbers weren’t big.

Kamara was the 67th overall pick, by the Saints, and went on to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Kelly’s now in the middle of his own draft cycle, having declared as a junior, too.
The parallels between Kamara and Kelly are size, style, and circumstance.

Their arcs aren’t identical, to be clear. Kamara was a blue-chip recruit, and Kelly wasn’t. Kamara initially played for Alabama and then transferred to a junior college, while Kelly was a Vol all the way through. And Kamara had significantly better stats in Knoxville.

But they share a lot. At their respective combines, they measured in almost identically in both height and weight, with Kamara a hair taller and two pounds lighter. They both managed 15 bench reps, below average for a running back. But both of them draw more strength from their legs and their compact centers, anyway.

“I think I run better routes than him,” Kelly said this year’s combine. “Tell him I said that.”

And both of them had to wait a while to contribute at Tennessee before bursting through the wall like an orange version of the Kool-Aid Man. They both became the subject of scorn toward now-fired head coach Butch Jones, whose last offenses were ugly aside from them.

“It was a coach’s decision,” Kelly told SB Nation. “We never complained about anything. We just showed up and went to work, and whatever was asked of us, we just tried to go out there an execute to the best our ability. When we had the opportunities to get the ball in our hands, we made sure we made the best of it.”
Kelly’s underwhelming college stats shouldn’t scare teams away.

He didn’t grade well in efficiency stats, and his per-carry average was bad. But it’s difficult to run in the SEC, and it’s especially difficult when you’re playing in one of the worst passing offenses in that league. The Vols had worse quarterback play in 2017 than any SEC team except Florida, and they finished 110th nationally in team passer rating, third worst in their league. By later in the season, when Kelly’s numbers lagged, everybody knew Tennessee couldn’t throw the ball anywhere. It was incredibly easy to key on him.

Kelly is a brutal runner, though. At Tennessee, he often had defensive company in the backfield right after getting the ball. But he proved he can run through people, like here:

And that he could bounce off people and win a race, like here:

And that he can do truly cruel things to defenders at the second level:

“I just try to let them know, regardless of if we’re starting five yards back or anywhere, I can at least get back to the line of scrimmage. Like, I’m getting downhill as fast as possible, so that’s something I feel like would separate me from a lot of other guys,” Kelly said.
Kamara became a superstar as a rookie. It’s not fair to expect that of Kelly.

But he doesn’t have to be like his predecessor to be like his predecessor. Kelly watched Kamara put up a Pro Bowl season, and the two kept up throughout it.

“I knew it was coming from him,” Kelly said. “I knew he was gonna be a steal in the draft, too. I expected great things from Alvin, same as he expects great things from me.”

 by SWAdude
5 years 10 months ago
 Total posts:   2440  
 Joined:  Sep 21 2015
United States of America   LA Coliseum
Pro Bowl

SDRamman wrote:From SBNation
Why new Rams RB John Kelly is the new Alvin Kamara, no matter how he pans out
Kelly is on a nearly identical track to his Tennessee predecessor.

Update: The Rams took John Kelly with the second pick of the sixth round.

INDIANAPOLIS — Over the last two seasons, these things have stuck out about Tennessee’s football program: general disappointment, fans wanting the Volunteers to hire Jon Gruden, and a star running back emerging while everything crumbled around him.

In 2016, it was Alvin Kamara. He started the year No. 2 on the Vols’ depth chart behind someone named Jalen Hurd, who was six inches taller but clearly not better. The 5’10 Kamara didn’t make his first start until the Vols’ sixth game. He had 18 carries for 127 yards and two touchdowns that day, and he didn’t give the job back except for two weeks missed with injuries. UT collapsed down the strech, but Kamara finished at 5.8 yards per carry.

In 2017, it was John Kelly. The 5’9, 216-pounder is built like a cut bowling bowl. Kelly started for the Vols all season, after Hurd transferred and Kamara declared for the NFL draft. In the starting job , Kelly didn’t set the world on fire statistically. He finished at 4.1 yards per carry, with nine touchdowns and 778 total rushing yards in 11 games. He added 299 receiving yards on a solid-for-Tennessee 6.4 yards per target, but his numbers weren’t big.

Kamara was the 67th overall pick, by the Saints, and went on to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Kelly’s now in the middle of his own draft cycle, having declared as a junior, too.
The parallels between Kamara and Kelly are size, style, and circumstance.

Their arcs aren’t identical, to be clear. Kamara was a blue-chip recruit, and Kelly wasn’t. Kamara initially played for Alabama and then transferred to a junior college, while Kelly was a Vol all the way through. And Kamara had significantly better stats in Knoxville.

But they share a lot. At their respective combines, they measured in almost identically in both height and weight, with Kamara a hair taller and two pounds lighter. They both managed 15 bench reps, below average for a running back. But both of them draw more strength from their legs and their compact centers, anyway.

“I think I run better routes than him,” Kelly said this year’s combine. “Tell him I said that.”

And both of them had to wait a while to contribute at Tennessee before bursting through the wall like an orange version of the Kool-Aid Man. They both became the subject of scorn toward now-fired head coach Butch Jones, whose last offenses were ugly aside from them.

“It was a coach’s decision,” Kelly told SB Nation. “We never complained about anything. We just showed up and went to work, and whatever was asked of us, we just tried to go out there an execute to the best our ability. When we had the opportunities to get the ball in our hands, we made sure we made the best of it.”
Kelly’s underwhelming college stats shouldn’t scare teams away.

He didn’t grade well in efficiency stats, and his per-carry average was bad. But it’s difficult to run in the SEC, and it’s especially difficult when you’re playing in one of the worst passing offenses in that league. The Vols had worse quarterback play in 2017 than any SEC team except Florida, and they finished 110th nationally in team passer rating, third worst in their league. By later in the season, when Kelly’s numbers lagged, everybody knew Tennessee couldn’t throw the ball anywhere. It was incredibly easy to key on him.

Kelly is a brutal runner, though. At Tennessee, he often had defensive company in the backfield right after getting the ball. But he proved he can run through people, like here:

And that he could bounce off people and win a race, like here:

And that he can do truly cruel things to defenders at the second level:

“I just try to let them know, regardless of if we’re starting five yards back or anywhere, I can at least get back to the line of scrimmage. Like, I’m getting downhill as fast as possible, so that’s something I feel like would separate me from a lot of other guys,” Kelly said.
Kamara became a superstar as a rookie. It’s not fair to expect that of Kelly.

But he doesn’t have to be like his predecessor to be like his predecessor. Kelly watched Kamara put up a Pro Bowl season, and the two kept up throughout it.

“I knew it was coming from him,” Kelly said. “I knew he was gonna be a steal in the draft, too. I expected great things from Alvin, same as he expects great things from me.”


Great article.

Thanks for sharing.

 by Extremes
5 years 10 months ago
 Total posts:   121  
 Joined:  Apr 20 2018
Belarus   LA
Practice Squad

John Kelly is the meanest thing since sliced bread. Reminds me of Walter Payton. Kelly has that Antiono Brown(steelers) 6th round level talent. He just got held back by a Jeff Fisher like coach and shit o-line.


 by Zen_Ronin
5 years 10 months ago
 Total posts:   2036  
 Joined:  Sep 26 2016
Canada   Edmonton, AB
Pro Bowl

Extremes wrote:John Kelly is the meanest thing since sliced bread. Reminds me of Walter Payton. Kelly has that Antiono Brown(steelers) 6th round level talent. He just got held back by a Jeff Fisher like coach and shit o-line.




Now THAT was a fun highlight reel!

Thanks for sharing.

 by Hacksaw
5 years 10 months ago
 Total posts:   24523  
 Joined:  Apr 15 2015
United States of America   AT THE BEACH
Moderator

Yeah, the kid is tough and fast. Reminds me a little of TA for some reason. Smallish and quick, but he runs towards the goal line.

 by ramsrams
5 years 10 months ago
 Total posts:   1176  
 Joined:  Feb 06 2016
Canada   Mississauga, ON
Pro Bowl

If I lip read right, McVay said “He’s crying” just before he passed the phone to Coach Peete.

Man, if he’s half the back Kamara is, I think we just got a steal!

He and Brown should provide good depth at the position.

And, he doesn’t fumble!

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24 posts Mar 29 2024