Recruited by Coach Boots Donnelly in 1991 from Lincoln County High School, Kelly Holcomb was to become one of Middle Tennessee's all-time great quarterbacks. He was a four-year starter for the Blue Raiders, leading them to the Ohio Valley Conference Championship in 1992. He gained all-conference honors in 1992 and 1994, finishing his collegiate career by being named the Most Valuable Player in the 1994 Blue-Gray game in Mobile, Alabama.
Holcomb left the Blue Raiders as the career passing leader with 7,064 yards in spite of directing a run-oriented offense. He passed for over 200 yards in 12 games during his career and had three games of over 300 yards passing while finishing with a career pass completion percentage of 58.2, still ranking him 5th all-time. Possibly the highest profile Middle Tennessee athlete in recent memory, he began his lengthy NFL career in 1995.
