University of Memphis Athletics
Chris Kelley Feature
Oct 07, 2004 | Football
Oct. 7, 2004
When we think of a major Division I college football player, we most often think of someone who has been playing football all his life and has worked for years to get to this point. For University of Memphis senior wide receiver Chris Kelley, however, this is far from the truth.
Kelley was born in the tiny town of Inez, Ky., but his family moved several times when he was younger, spending time in Kentucky, Texas, and Mississippi before settling in Corinth, Miss. Due to this moving, and the fact that he attended a number of smaller schools, Kelley never had the opportunity to play organized football until his junior year of high school.
While he was not involved with football for much of his youth and high school athletic careers, Kelley did participate in track and basketball, excelling at both. However, the teenager had always loved football and knew that he wanted to play competitively, and when his family moved to Corinth, he got the chance. There, the high school junior found the game that he loved and that would eventually take him to the college ranks.
Once Kelley got started, it did not take him long to pick up the game. He used his athletic ability and the familiarity with sports he gained through track and basketball, and within his first few games, he was starting on both sides of the ball for Kossuth High School in Corinth.
"I just understand athletics well," Kelley said. "Basketball and track helped me with timing and stuff like that, and football just clicked with me."
Two stellar high school seasons ensued, with Kelley spending time at running back, wide receiver, and defensive back, and racking up 1,500 yards rushing and receiving. With these efforts, he was named all-district in 1999 and 2000, and also helped his team to a division championship for the 1999 season.
Even with his great success on the football field however, track was likely Kelley's best sport in high school. Reaching the Mississippi State Championships in the high jump, long jump, and triple jump, Kelley took second place in the high jump and fourth in the remaining two. This prompted a number of scholarship offers from track programs throughout the south, but Kelley decided to continue his football career by signing with Northeast Mississippi Community College.
"Out of high school, the major offers I had were for track, but I wanted to play football," Kelley said. At Northeast, Kelley continued to hone his skills and expand his knowledge of the game and became a standout wide receiver, totaling over 1,000 yards receiving, catching 11 touchdowns and earning two letters in two years. In 2002, he helped lead NEMCC to a Division Championship, and was also named All-State, All-Region Honorable Mention, and MVP of the Mississippi Junior College All-Star Game.
Upon completion of his superb junior college career, Kelley had scholarship offers from a number of top-notch universities but it did not take long for him to decide that Memphis was the place for him.
"When I came to Memphis the first day, I knew I was probably going to sign here," Kelley said. "The atmosphere and the relationship between players and coaches were totally different than anything I had ever been around. I could just tell they treated players with respect."
After joining the Tigers in the spring of 2003, Kelley played in all 13 games last season as a wide receiver and kick returner. For the year, he caught 11 balls for 154 yards and two touchdowns, including a 65-yard score versus Cincinnati and a 10-yard tally to give Memphis a 14-3 lead against North Texas in the New Orleans Bowl. He had just three receptions in the first nine games of 2003, but elevated his game at the end of the season, grabbing eight balls for 126 yards, and the two scores in the team's final four games.
"It takes a while for guys to make the transition from junior college to Division I and learn a new system," said U of M wide receivers coach Clay Helton. "It took Chris a few games, but he has turned into one of our best receivers."
This season, the 6-1, 200 pound senior picked up right where he left off last year. Through five games, he has grabbed eight passes for 139 yards and a touchdown, with several of the catches coming in key third down situations.
"Chris is stepping up and really playing a big role in our offense," said Tiger Quarterback Danny Wimprine. "He's a guy I can look for when we need a big play, and I am going to keep getting him the ball because he is making plays."
Not only does Kelley continue to make big grabs, he also does all of the little things to help the team, and is known for doing the fundamental things right.
"He plays every down with or without the ball," Helton said. "He is one of our best blockers and route runners along with being able to catch the ball."
Along with his duties on offense, Kelley also plays a major role on special teams, both returning and covering kicks. Another example of him coming up big and doing anything he can to help the team.
"Chris doesn't do anything spectacular, but does everything solid," Wimprine said. "He gives great effort all the time and plays his role for the team, and when the ball comes to him, he makes plays."
Through this type of play and his hard work in all aspects of the game Kelley has garnered much respect from his teammates as well as the coaches and those around the Tiger football team.
"Chris is one of those guys who plays the game all week long in practice," Helton said. "That's a main reason he has so much success on Saturday."
The fact that Kelley has been successful and picked up things so quickly on the field would be strange to many, but it is no big surprise to those around him. This is largely related to the "brains" Kelley has to accompany his brawn. In his college career, the sports and leisure studies major has accumulated a 3.337 grade point average, and has been a member of the Tiger 3.0 Club each of his three semesters at U of M. For the 2003-04 year, Kelley was named to the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll and the Tiger Academic 30, and also made the Dean's List in the spring. Along with this, the junior college transfer will graduate in three and a half years, a huge accomplishment in itself.
"Chris has his life right and gives everything he has on and off the field," Helton said. "He is the type of guy I want my son to grow up and be."
Based on his success in the classroom, in conjunction with his on-the-field achievements, Kelley was recently nominated for a National Scholar-Athlete Postgraduate Scholarship Award. These awards, sponsored by the National Football Foundation and Coaches Hall of Fame, are graduate fellowships worth $18,000 toward postgraduate studies, and are awarded to approximately 15 scholar-athletes from across the country.
Kelley credits much of his success on and off the field to his parents, and says if it was not for them, there is no way he would be where he is today.
"My parents have always been there for me. Because I come from a divorced family, I don't get to see my dad that much, but we talk a lot and he has always been supportive," Kelley said. "I just want to be able to pay back both of my parents and help them the way they have helped me."
This should only be expected from an athlete who works hard in everything he does to make everyone around him better and to help his team in every way possible.
Now, after a solid year and a half of hard work and continued improvement, Kelley nears the midpoint of his final season at Memphis. With just six years of football experience, which more fitting for a high school senior than a college senior, he is still learning day in and day out.
"Not playing when I was younger probably put me a little bit behind, but we all need to keep getting better everyday," Kelley said. "I've learned and gotten a lot better, but still need to keep working on things like route running, blocking and reading defenses to keep improving and minimize my mistakes."
So, the six-year football veteran continues to work hard everyday and pick up more and more knowledge about the game, and everything that goes along with it, but who would expect anything less from a player like Chris Kelley.
