Last season was spent getting synchronized with Paul Thompson. The same is the case this year with Sam Bradford, Joey Halzle and Keith Nichol.

However, Kelly expresses no frustration over the revolving door he’s caught passes from.

“Those years I’ve had with those quarterbacks have been pretty successful years,” he said. “I don’t see a reason why we can’t this year.”

It’s not surprising he doesn’t dwell on the situation. His attitude has always been one of his best attributes.

“He always has a great attitude about working and he’s an exceptional player,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “Last year everyone knew he was our guy and that’s who we were going to and he was still hard to stop. He does a great job of being the kind of leader that you want.”

It’s a new role for Kelly. He’s never been the guy to rally the troops. When big plays were called for, he was there. When big words were necessary, he deferred to someone else.

“I’ve never had to consider myself that,” Kelly said of the leadership role. “I’ve always been the young guy. As long I’ve been here that’s what I’ve been. I’ve never been the vocal guy either.”

But that, too, has changed.

Tight end Joe Jon Finley believes Kelly became more comfortable with being an elder statesmen after the season.

“Since the offseason and everything, he’s kind of spoken up a little bit more,” Finley said. “But he’s mainly been a leader by example. He works hard in every drill we do and plays hard in every football game.”

This could be the season Kelly becomes a household name outside of Oklahoma. No matter who wins OU’s quarterback competition, Kelly will likely become his favorite target.

He only has one basic goal when it comes to the upcoming season.

“When they throw me the ball, I catch it,” he said. “That’s all that really matters.”

John Shinn

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