Todd Kelly Jr. was in third grade the last time Tennessee defeated Florida on Sept. 18, 2004. Today, he is the key player for a Volunteer defense that has forced eight turnovers this season.
Although he doesn’t remember his third grade teacher, the true freshman can’t forget Tennessee’s 30-28 last minute win over the Gators on that historic night in Neyland Stadium.
“The field goal is still clear in my mind,” Kelly Jr. said. “I was in the skybox and it was shaking because it was so loud. The atmosphere is going to be awesome and I know the fans are going to bring it.”
This weekend, it will be Kelly Jr. looking to make impact plays, hopefully helping his team end a nine-game losing skid to the Gators.
“Any SEC game is special,” he said. “This is a big rivalry game and the fans are going to do the orange and white checkerboard, so they are hyping it up and it’s sold out. You can’t ask for a bigger game.”
The ball hawk is not only tied for the team lead with three pass deflections, but also knotted up at the top of turnovers list, recording an interception and a fumble recovery.
However, it was his “overall maturity” that impressed his head coach most.
“Todd has a thirst and drive to be the best he can possibly be,” Butch Jones said. “He has a great football intelligence and he benefits from asking a lot of questions. He is confident in his game and has learned the defensive and special teams well and applied it to the field.”
In Tennessee’s season opener, Kelly Jr. recovered a fumble on a kickoff that was jarred loose by A.J. Johnson. Just a week later the 6-foot-1, 203-pound defensive back totaled five tackles in his first career start in a 34-19 win over Arkansas State.
“The coaches said if you make plays on special teams you’ll be able to make plays on defense,” Kelly Jr. said. “Special teams is all about making stops in the open field. It’s kind of been an easy transition, because playing at safety you are playing in open field and trying to make plays in space. Wherever the coaches put me I’m prepared to make plays.”
His second turnover of his young career came last weekend in his first SEC game, as he read the eyes of Georgia quarterback Hutson Mason and made a leaping interception – the first of his career.
“It was awesome,” he said. “I really didn’t know what to do after I got up with the ball, so I kind of just stood there. Everyone jumped on me and that made me happy. Hopefully I’ll be able to create more turnovers here in the future.”
Kelly Jr. has been part of a defense this season that ranks first in the country for holding opponents in check on third-down conversions.
Opposing teams have only been able to convert 11-of-53 (20.75 percent) of their third-downs, which ranks .58 percentage points ahead of Louisville for the top spot.
“Our defense is just focused on making plays and impacting the game by our play,” he said. “We want to make big plays, and if an interception does it then so be it. We want to have a strong impact on the game anyway we can.”
Throughout the rest of the week leading up to the Vols’ conference home opener with the Gators, Kelly Jr. will keep looking to build his game and cohesiveness with his defense in preparation to try and end the streak.
“Right now, we are working on some habits and how to finish plays,” Jones said. “That comes with time and accumulation of reps and practices. He (Kelly Jr.) has been an exceptionally mature player for us.”
