Kameron Rashad Kelly (born August 19, 1996) is an American professional football defensive back for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at San Diego State University.
 Kelly with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2021 | |||||||||||
| No. 23 – St. Louis Battlehawks | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive back | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | August 19, 1996 Round Rock, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Wylie (Wylie, Texas) | ||||||||||
| College: | San Diego State (2014–2017) | ||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2018 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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| Stats at CFL.ca | |||||||||||
Early life
editKelly was born in Round Rock, Texas, and grew up in Wylie, Texas, where he attended Wylie High School.[1]
As a senior, he posted 56-of-96 passes (58.3 percent) for 841 yards, 5 passing touchdowns, 86 carries for 568 rushing yards, 13 rushing touchdowns, 59 receptions for 950 yards, 11 receiving touchdowns, 4,000 all-purpose yards and 7 interceptions on defense. He led the team to a 9-5 overall record and an appearance in the 4A D1 Quarterfinals. He received 4A Region II District 13 Player of the Year and Academic all-state honors.
He also practiced basketball and track & field.
As a dual-threat quarterback, he was rated a two-star recruit by Rivals.com[2] and committed to play college football at San Diego State.
College career
editAs a true freshman, Kelly converted to safety and was a backup, before suffering a knee injury that was complicated by compartment syndrome, which forced him to miss the final 6 games of the season. He appeared in 6 games, registering one tackle, 5 kickoff returns for 131 yards (26.2-yard avg.) and one blocked punt.
As a sophomore, he started 13 games, collecting 58 tackles (3 for loss), 2 interceptions and 3 passes defensed. He missed the season opener for a violation of team rules. He had 8 tackles against Penn State University. He made 8 tackles against the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He had 9 tackles (one for loss) in the 2015 Hawaii Bowl.
As a junior, he returned to a backup role. He appeared in all 14 games, collecting 38 tackles, 5 interceptions, 6 passes defensed and 9 special teams tackles (tied for third on the team). He had 4 tackles, one interception and one pass defensed. He made 4 tackles and one interception against Fresno State University.
As a senior, after switching to cornerback, he started all 13 games and had the best season of his college career. He registered a career-high 68 tackles (5 for loss), two sacks, and two forced fumbles, 3 interceptions and 8 passes defensed. Both of his sacks were recorded in a game against then-19th ranked Stanford, in addition to six tackles, two of which were for a loss. That game earned him a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week award, as well as a Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week award. At the end of the season, he was named a first-team All-Mountain West selection. Finished tied for 10th in school history with 10 interceptions.[1]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1+5⁄8 in (1.87 m) |
204 lb (93 kg) |
31+3⁄4 in (0.81 m) |
8+7⁄8 in (0.23 m) |
4.66 s | 4.28 s | 6.94 s | 33.0 in (0.84 m) |
10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) |
9 reps | |||
| All values from NFL Combine[3] | ||||||||||||
Dallas Cowboys
editKelly was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys after the 2018 NFL draft on April 30.[4] He was released before the start of the season on September 1.[5]
San Diego Fleet
editOn October 27, 2018, Kelly was signed by the San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football for the 2019 AAF season.[6] In early January, he was switched to the wide receiver position,[7] and on January 30, it was announced that he made the final roster at that position.[8] In practice before the week 3 game, head coach Mike Martz announced that Kelly would be moved back to cornerback due to injuries.[9]
In week 5 against the Salt Lake Stallions, Kelly intercepted Stallions quarterback Josh Woodrum three times, one of which was returned for a 22-yard touchdown, as the Fleet won 27–25.[10] He was eventually named the AAF Defensive Player of the Week.[11]
Pittsburgh Steelers
editAfter the AAF suspended football operations, Kelly signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers on April 8, 2019.[12] Kelly made his debut with the Steelers in week 1 against the New England Patriots. In the game, Kelly made 7 tackles in the 33–3 loss.[13] In week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens, Kelly recorded his first career interception off Lamar Jackson in the 26–23 loss.[14]
On December 20, 2019, Kelly was arrested in Pittsburgh's southside after claims of threats towards police. He was waived by the Steelers later in the day.[15] The charges were dropped by December 2020, and Kelly was fined half of a game salary by the NFL.[16]
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
editKelly signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL on February 17, 2021.[17] He played in all 14 regular season games in 2021 where he had 36 defensive tackles, 10 pass deflections, one sack, and one interception.[18]
San Antonio Brahmas
editKelly signed with the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL in February 2023.[19]
St. Louis Battlehawks
editKelly was selected by the St. Louis Battlehawks in the third round of the Super Draft portion of the 2024 UFL dispersal draft on January 15, 2024.[20] He signed with the team on January 22.[21] He re-signed with the team on August 26, 2024.[22]
References
edit- ^ a b "2017 San Diego State Final Bios: Kameron Kelly" (PDF). SDSU Athletics. San Diego State University Athletics. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ "Rivals.com". n.rivals.com. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ "NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles – Kameron Kelly". www.nfl.com. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ Brandon George [@DMN_George] (April 28, 2018). "Cowboys add San Diego State S Kameron Kelly (Wylie HS) as an undrafted rookie free agent ..." (Tweet). Retrieved February 8, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ Bobby Belt [@BobbyBeltTX] (September 1, 2018). "Agent Damarius Bilbo confirms the Cowboys have released DB Kameron Kelly" (Tweet). Retrieved February 8, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ Nguyen, Alexander. "San Diego Fleet Signs Two More Former Aztecs". Times of San Diego. Times of San Diego LLC. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ San Diego Fleet PR [@SDFleetPR] (January 8, 2019). "⚓️ 🙌 Versatility personified. New 'X' look familiar? @kaetwice7 playing at WR today. The multi-talented Kam Kelly played QB, WR, DB at Wylie HS and successfully switched from safety to corner as a senior at @SDSUFootball. #FleetTrainingCamp #GreatestShowOnSurf" (Tweet). Retrieved February 8, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ "San Diego Fleet Sets Final Roster". OurSports Central. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ Goldberg, Jeff (February 20, 2019). "Fleet's defense makes strong bid to be called best of the West". Alliance of American Football. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
- ^ Judd, Brandon (March 9, 2019). "Five turnovers, last-second field goal doom Salt Lake Stallions in 27–25 loss to San Diego Fleet". Deseret News. Retrieved March 11, 2019.[dead link]
- ^ Garcia, Jeff (March 12, 2019). "Commanders QB Logan Woodside named AAF offensive player of the week". WOAI-TV. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
- ^ Varley, Teresa (April 8, 2019). "Steelers sign three". Steelers.com. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
- ^ "Brady starts his 20th season by beating Steelers 33–3". ESPN. September 8, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- ^ "Rudolph exits after scary hit, Ravens edge Steelers in OT". ESPN. October 6, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- ^ "Steelers waive Kameron Kelly after arrest in South Side bar scuffle with police officer". WTAE. December 20, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ^ Pelissero, Tom [@TomPelissero] (December 1, 2020). "Ex-#Steelers DB Kam Kelly -- cut last year after an arrest for disorderly conduct and threats -- had all charges dropped and the NFL has closed its review, I'm told. He'll be fined half of his next game check. Kelly stood out in The Spring League and is a free agent" (Tweet). Retrieved March 6, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Tiger-Cats sign six defensive backs". TiCats.ca. February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
- ^ "Kameron Kelly". Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
- ^ "CFL all-star strong-side linebacker Kameron Kelly signs with XFL's San Antonio Brahmas". 3downnation.com. February 15, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ Rachuk, Stephen (January 15, 2024). "2024 United Football League (UFL) Super Draft Tracker". PFNewsroom.com. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ "The UFL Agrees to Terms with 61 Players". UFLBoard.com. January 22, 2024. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
- ^ @UFL_PR (August 26, 2024). "The #UFL has announced the following transactions" (Tweet). Retrieved August 27, 2024 – via Twitter.