Oklahoma LB Caleb Kelly At Difficult Crossroads In Football Career !
You may already know that Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Caleb Kelly has been ‘training like crazy‘ for a possible return this season and now he is at a crossroads in his college football career. Read on for more details on Oklahoma LB Caleb Kelly difficult crossroads…
CelebNSports247.com has learned that no player in the history of college football has faced the kind of dilemma that Oklahoma linebacker Caleb Kelly faces this week.
Does Kelly play on Saturday against top-ranked LSU in the Peach Bowl? Or does he sit out the College Football Playoff semifinal and, win or lose, return in 2020 for his senior year?
Oklahoma Sooners Caleb Kelly said:
It’s tricky. It’s confusing. It’s a quandary.
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said:
There are ongoing discussions right now. There’s obviously a lot of different ways to look at that. This scenario with him is a little unique right now.
If you recall, Caleb Kelly a senior from Fresno, Calif., is coming back from a knee injury he suffered in spring practice on April 4.
According to Sporting News, the NCAA’s new four-game redshirt rule puts Kelly in a serious decision-making mode. If he plays Saturday, it would be his fourth game of the year, meaning he can return for his senior year in 2020 — if the Peach Bowl is his final game of the season, that is. If Kelly plays and Oklahoma wins, then he’ll have to decide, again, whether to give up a full senior season by playing in the national championship game on Jan. 13 against the winner of Ohio State-Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl. Or, he could sit out the most important game of his life and return for one final season.
The Oklahoma Sooners may need the 6-3, 225-pound Kelly vs. LSU to have a chance to play for a national title — especially with starting safety Delarrin Turner-Yell (injury) and defensive lineman Ronnie Perkins (suspension) out.
Following that, Kelly was medically cleared for contact shortly after midseason.
He has been practicing since early November, but Riley expressed a distinct difference between being able to practice and being able to play in a game.
One thing that is certain is that Kelly’s determination to get back on the field has been nothing short of remarkable. Caleb drive had him back on the field for the Sooner linebacker corps seven months and one week after tearing his ACL.
As for Kelly, he hasn’t been made available for interviews since the Sooners beat TCU back on Nov. 23.
Caleb said:
Hmm, I don’t know. I can’t tell you. I go week by week. Missing a national championship. … I don’t know. I’ve been here four years and been one game away from the last two. That’s definitely something I would love to play in. But also, one game for the rest of my career? A real hard decision.
Kenneth Murray, middle linebacker and captain, said:
He came in and flew around for us. A guy that’s obviously a pivotal piece for us on defense, given everything he’s been through in this program. He was able to come in and communicate and make the checks with me. He’s been big for us and he’s going to continue to be big for us. He’s a guy that’s my brother and one of my best friends. I’m so happy to have him back.
Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, adds:
I was excited to get him out there. I think that helps us. I think he’s playing fast. You see some physicalness in practice. That’s obviously going to translate to the game. And he did good when he was in there. No. 1, you don’t notice the issues. No. 2, we talked about that, the more guys we rotate, the better off we’ll be. So I’m excited to have him out there. And too, a player the other player’s respect.
White, who stepped into Kelly’s weakside linebacker role after his injury.
He said:
The return of Caleb Kelly, it’s been good for me personally. Me and Caleb have pushed the heck out of each other since, you know, Grinch moved into this place. I know leaving off from the spring, we were really going at it there, and as soon as he got back, it was like, we’re right back to where we were.
