Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
“As soon as he got in, I knew” - Kelly makes early impact at wide receiver
4/10/2024 5:17:00 PM | Football
The Auburn transfer has made his mark with his physical, tough and intelligent play in spring practice.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — If you take nothing else away from this piece, Omari Kelly wants you to know this: he plays a lot bigger than he looks.
The Hewitt-Trussville Huskies product might not look like a physical presence at wide receiver. His listed measurements, 6-0, 186 pounds, don't jump off the page as someone that can dominate others on the perimeter. But watch one practice, one game, and you'll see why Kelly has quickly found a role in the Blue Raider offense after transferring from Auburn this semester.
"For somebody that doesn't know, I'm not the biggest guy, not the strongest dude," Kelly said. "But I bring to the table something a lot of the time receivers don't have, which is the willingness to block."
Whether it's coming out of the slot to attack linebackers or safeties or taking care of the defensive back across from him on the edge, Kelly is relentless in helping his teammates with his blocks, a trait that wide receivers coach Cornelius Williams has quickly taken note of.
"He doesn't mind blocking," Williams said. "He actually likes to do it; you can see it when you're watching him."
A standout player for head coach Josh Floyd at Hewitt-Trussville High School in Trussville, Ala., Kelly was a standout athlete for the Huskies in three sports, also playing track and baseball, while playing two-ways for the Huskies on the gridiron at wide receiver and defensive back. Highly recruited out of high school, Kelly was rated as a Top-30 athlete in the Class of 2022 and committed to Auburn in large part thanks to the recruiting efforts of Williams, who was on staff when Kelly committed to the Tigers verbally.
"With him, he was just genuine," Kelly said of Williams. "I felt like I could talk to him about anything. He always kept it real with me. I felt like other coaches sometimes didn't."
Kelly's talent, not just in blocking, but in his ability to attack the high point of the ball to make catches, helped him see the field early in Jordan-Hare Stadium, playing in all 12 of the Tigers' games his freshman season. But other challenges kept Kelly from making the impact he wanted, namely struggling to learn a playbook more complicated than he was used to, Kelly said.
A staff change at Auburn, who replaced head coach Bryan Harsin with Hugh Freeze after the 2022 season, gave Kelly a fresh start, but one that would eventually see Kelly get lost on the depth chart in 2023, where he only played in seven games for Auburn.
When Kelly then entered the transfer portal for his final two years of eligibility, it coincidentally coincided with Williams making his way to MTSU on Derek Mason's first staff. Kelly and Williams hadn't interacted much since Williams and Auburn parted ways prior to Kelly enrolling at the school, but the connection immediately returned between the two. That, coupled with an opportunity for Kelly to play right away and Williams' respect for Kelly's character and ability, made MTSU an instant match for Kelly, despite the Blue Raiders being the last school to contact him in the portal.
"If you watched his high school film, he was playing both sides of the ball," Williams said. "He was doing that at a high level, he was doing it at the highest level. We knew from watching it he was getting tired, but he's still making plays on both sides of the ball.
"As soon as he got in, I knew. And that was before I even got here."
Since arriving, Kelly has helped the Blue Raiders navigate their own coaching change like he dealt with at Auburn, making sure he spent the time getting to know everyone on the team to help prevent the cliques he said could pop up in these transitions if players and coaches aren't careful.
"It's not as prone as to happen here, because not as many people have egos," Kelly said. "Everybody here I've met on the team is down to Earth. I can go up to anybody and talk about whatever."
That off-the-field connection, Kelly said, is as important right now as the work he and the Blue Raider offense are putting in on the field to get ready for the 2024 season. Kelly says he finds ways to make sure he's spending time with his teammates in the wide receiver room, but particularly the quarterbacks. Going and grabbing a meal together or hanging out at someone's house, Kelly said, can bond the group together as fast as catching as many passes as possible.
On the field, Kelly's quickly risen up the depth chart this spring and has shown his natural ability in space along with a knack of finding it, all while being the embodiment of Mason's Blue Collar, Physical, Tough and Intelligent branding around the football program. Williams said the wideout's knowledge of the game has helped him better utilize those physical traits that made him a standout prospect as a prep athlete and continued work this summer on the nuances of the wide receiver game, nailing the detail work of route running and breaks, will help him continue to grow until fall camp kicks off.
But first, Kelly will have to help the Blue Team out in the spring game, with continued focus on what's helped him find his footing early as a Blue Raider.
"Try to stay as consistent as possible and don't get frustrated," Kelly said were his goals this spring. "It is a new offense, around whole new people trying to find a way to get the team to come together."
The Hewitt-Trussville Huskies product might not look like a physical presence at wide receiver. His listed measurements, 6-0, 186 pounds, don't jump off the page as someone that can dominate others on the perimeter. But watch one practice, one game, and you'll see why Kelly has quickly found a role in the Blue Raider offense after transferring from Auburn this semester.
"For somebody that doesn't know, I'm not the biggest guy, not the strongest dude," Kelly said. "But I bring to the table something a lot of the time receivers don't have, which is the willingness to block."
Whether it's coming out of the slot to attack linebackers or safeties or taking care of the defensive back across from him on the edge, Kelly is relentless in helping his teammates with his blocks, a trait that wide receivers coach Cornelius Williams has quickly taken note of.
"He doesn't mind blocking," Williams said. "He actually likes to do it; you can see it when you're watching him."
A standout player for head coach Josh Floyd at Hewitt-Trussville High School in Trussville, Ala., Kelly was a standout athlete for the Huskies in three sports, also playing track and baseball, while playing two-ways for the Huskies on the gridiron at wide receiver and defensive back. Highly recruited out of high school, Kelly was rated as a Top-30 athlete in the Class of 2022 and committed to Auburn in large part thanks to the recruiting efforts of Williams, who was on staff when Kelly committed to the Tigers verbally.
"With him, he was just genuine," Kelly said of Williams. "I felt like I could talk to him about anything. He always kept it real with me. I felt like other coaches sometimes didn't."
Kelly's talent, not just in blocking, but in his ability to attack the high point of the ball to make catches, helped him see the field early in Jordan-Hare Stadium, playing in all 12 of the Tigers' games his freshman season. But other challenges kept Kelly from making the impact he wanted, namely struggling to learn a playbook more complicated than he was used to, Kelly said.
A staff change at Auburn, who replaced head coach Bryan Harsin with Hugh Freeze after the 2022 season, gave Kelly a fresh start, but one that would eventually see Kelly get lost on the depth chart in 2023, where he only played in seven games for Auburn.
When Kelly then entered the transfer portal for his final two years of eligibility, it coincidentally coincided with Williams making his way to MTSU on Derek Mason's first staff. Kelly and Williams hadn't interacted much since Williams and Auburn parted ways prior to Kelly enrolling at the school, but the connection immediately returned between the two. That, coupled with an opportunity for Kelly to play right away and Williams' respect for Kelly's character and ability, made MTSU an instant match for Kelly, despite the Blue Raiders being the last school to contact him in the portal.
"If you watched his high school film, he was playing both sides of the ball," Williams said. "He was doing that at a high level, he was doing it at the highest level. We knew from watching it he was getting tired, but he's still making plays on both sides of the ball.
"As soon as he got in, I knew. And that was before I even got here."
Since arriving, Kelly has helped the Blue Raiders navigate their own coaching change like he dealt with at Auburn, making sure he spent the time getting to know everyone on the team to help prevent the cliques he said could pop up in these transitions if players and coaches aren't careful.
"It's not as prone as to happen here, because not as many people have egos," Kelly said. "Everybody here I've met on the team is down to Earth. I can go up to anybody and talk about whatever."
That off-the-field connection, Kelly said, is as important right now as the work he and the Blue Raider offense are putting in on the field to get ready for the 2024 season. Kelly says he finds ways to make sure he's spending time with his teammates in the wide receiver room, but particularly the quarterbacks. Going and grabbing a meal together or hanging out at someone's house, Kelly said, can bond the group together as fast as catching as many passes as possible.
On the field, Kelly's quickly risen up the depth chart this spring and has shown his natural ability in space along with a knack of finding it, all while being the embodiment of Mason's Blue Collar, Physical, Tough and Intelligent branding around the football program. Williams said the wideout's knowledge of the game has helped him better utilize those physical traits that made him a standout prospect as a prep athlete and continued work this summer on the nuances of the wide receiver game, nailing the detail work of route running and breaks, will help him continue to grow until fall camp kicks off.
But first, Kelly will have to help the Blue Team out in the spring game, with continued focus on what's helped him find his footing early as a Blue Raider.
"Try to stay as consistent as possible and don't get frustrated," Kelly said were his goals this spring. "It is a new offense, around whole new people trying to find a way to get the team to come together."
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