Chaos had already erupted by the time Caleb Kelly walked into OU’s locker room.
It was June 7, 2017, and the then-sophomore linebacker was entering his second summer camp at OU. However, before the session could get fully underway, Kelly and his teammates learned head coach Bob Stoops was retiring after 17 years at Oklahoma.
Kelly remembers a few teammates openly discussing entering the NCAA Transfer Portal in the locker room. Others worried about how different the program would look under Stoops’ replacement, Lincoln Riley. As the room grew louder, Kelly remained calm and even consoled those who would listen.
“Coach Linc’s already been here, it’s not going to change that much,” Kelly recalled telling his teammates. “I think we’re going to be good regardless, guys.”
Now entering his sixth season with the team, that moment illustrated the uplifting off-the-field role Kelly holds for the Sooners. A former five-star recruit in the 2016 lass, his OU career has been plagued with back-to-back ACL tears in 2019 and 2020, two head coaching changes, several position coaching changes and COVID-19. However, through it all, Kelly has relied on his faith, family and friendships to help him persevere.
“I’ve gone through everything, so I know how to handle everything,” Kelly said on Wednesday. “And the younger guys actually come up to me and be like, ‘Bro, why are you smiling all the time? Why are you so happy all the time? Like, that dude’s playing in your spot, why are you helping him out so much?’
“(Everything) has just made me a better person, for sure. I've gone through so much that I know how to love while not playing and I know how to love while playing. … It sucks to go from the top to the bottom, and working your way back up is hard.”
Kelly’s just one of four players from Fresno, California, to play for Oklahoma in recent history. He’s also on track to become the only one of those four to stay at OU for his entire career. The others either transferred out or were dismissed from the team.
“When I was coming in, it was kinda like, ‘You’re gonna make or break Fresno,’” Kelly said. “I've held that in my heart this whole time being here. I’m prideful about that. … I’ve talked to those guys that left, and they’ll (say), ‘Just go play, whatever you need to do is fine. If you need to leave, it’s fine. (You’ll) have three degrees from there. You’ve made it. You’ve saved the name of Fresno already.’
“(That) just wasn’t good enough for me at that point. It was like, ‘I gotta make it through. I gotta play. I gotta finish strong and get drafted.’ … Because that was the goal from the jump.”
Kelly believes his up-and-down career has readied him to achieve dream of playing in the NFL. With the league’s everchanging coaching carousel and every team’s ability to trade players at any given moment, Kelly is ready for whatever his future has in store.
But for right now, Kelly’s more focused on ensuring his last season at Oklahoma is his best yet. Joining him in the Sooners’ linebacker room is junior David Ugwoegbu, redshirt juniors Brian Asamoah and Nik Bonitto alongside senior DaShaun White.
Kelly was voted one of OU’s four team captains on Monday, alongside redshirt sophomore quarterback Spencer Rattler, redshirt senior H-back Jeremiah Hall and senior safety Pat Fields. When Riley heard his team selected Kelly, he was excited, but not surprised.
“He's had some of the highest of highs, he’s had some of the lowest lows,” Riley said on Tuesday. “For him to stay here and want to be a part of this, (that) speaks volumes to how much he cares about this place, this program and how much he wants to go chase a championship with this team and this group of guys. He’s an Oklahoma guy … and he’s a great example.”
When the Sooners take the field for their season opener against Tulane at 11 a.m. on Sept. 4 in Norman, it’ll be the second time Kelly faces the Green Wave at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. He’s one of five remaining members of OU’s 2017 team that defeated Tulane 56-14.
His experience and leadership made him an easy choice for a team captain spot, according to his teammates.
“I think it’s just an honor to stand next to him,” Fields said. “We all know his story. I think the moments of adversity he faced and how he handled them, speaks the most about him. He could’ve transferred and went anywhere in the country … (but) he’s just done everything and anything he can to help the team.
“And I think you see, like a lot of great traits in him like selflessness, hard work, grit. … And that really sets a good trajectory for the whole team.”
