2022 Oklahoma Breakout Player: DL Jordan Kelley
Part 3 of a series exploring Oklahoma’s potential breakout players in 2022:
Jordan Kelley is done biding his time.
The redshirt senior from Tulsa Union High School has logged action in just 24 games since arriving in Norman back in 2018, but a new defensive coaching staff has wiped the slate clean.
Alex Grinch and Calvin Thibodeuax have been replaced by Brent Venables and Todd Bates, providing Kelley a chance to realize his potential with the Sooners.
Twenty-one of the 24 career games Kelley has featured in so far came across the last two seasons as he earned a larger role in the defensive line rotation.
At the end of last year, Isaiah Thomas and Perrion Winfrey moved on to the NFL, opening up some snaps at the heart of OU’s defensive line.
Jalen Redmond and transfer Jeffery Johnson appear poised to play major roles, but Redmond has struggled to stay on the field due to injuries in his career, and Johnson will be making a major step up in competition after arriving from Tulane.
If either of those guys struggle, Kelley could see a much larger role for Bates along the defensive line.
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In the past two seasons, Kelley has rotated in and logged 15 tackles, including 3.0 tackles for loss and 0.5 quarterback sacks while also forcing a fumble.
To be an impact player for the Sooners this year, Kelley will have to raise his levels.
However, the arrivals of Bates, Venables and return of strength coach Jerry Schmidt have given Kelley all the tools to continue to develop at the heart of Oklahoma’s defensive line.
“Playing d-line this long, I didn’t think you could learn this much playing the d-line,” Kelley said of learning from Bates during spring practice. “… Just simple stuff like how far should I stunt and he said ‘half the distance of the split of the o-line.’ I never knew that.
“I’m just learning different stuff every day and I’m loving it.”
Though Kelley’s production didn’t always show up in the box score, he was still effective when he was rotated in last year.
Ahead of the 2022 season, Kelley is looking forward to the changes in the defensive playbook. Kelley thinks the new defensive system will allow him to play faster, as he’ll be given more license to read the offense and react.
“I’m loving it,” he said. “I’m loving being able to strike people.
“… Last year was more staying in the gap. This year, I feel like it’ll help me make that many more plays.”
Even if Redmond and Johnson are as productive as the coaching staff hopes, Bates said there will snaps to be had for five to six guys along the interior of the line.
And so far through his tenure as the defensive tackles coach, Bates has liked the approach he’s seen out of the 6-foot-4, 292-pounder.
“He’s just grown,” Bates said during spring practice. “I saw him in the first walkthrough we ever had, just the kid trying to work with technique and fundamentals. He’s really hungry for it.
“He played some last year but didn’t play a lot. He had other guys ahead of him. I’ve seen him hungry for it and just preparing for his moment. Now that moment is here, and he’s ready.”
Oklahoma’s defense should see more snaps run against it too, as offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby is preparing to put his foot on the throttle when his offense is on the field.
Kelley has waited patiently for four years to play a major role for the OU defense, and if he can put the pieces together, he’ll have an opportunity to be a difference maker for the Sooners in 2022.
“The way I see it, this is my year,” Kelley said. “I need to do everything I can in my power to make it may year.
“So I’ve been getting extra film every day. Extra lifts. Just doing my part and everything I can do to try to have that breakout year.”
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