Our Defensive Line Hot List is Really Two Guys, One is in the Barn and the Other is Harvesting
STILLWATER -- When the phone answered with Thomas-Fay-Custer defensive tackle Aden Kelley on the other end of the line, I could tell he wasn't sitting on the sofa taking it easy.
"Everything is good," Kelley told me. "I'm working wheat harvest, cutting wheat."
Kelley is a wheat cutter as he is up in the cab cutting wheat as the temperatures have kicked up and western Oklahoma has dried out a little bit over the last week making it a good time to cut what everybody is expecting to be a good wheat crop in the state this year.
Kelley says he gets plenty of work in and then for good measure gets a little strength work in when they finally shut it down and he gets home at night.
"I know they are going to get to doing some stuff late in June," Kelley said of his high school team and football workouts. "I know they started something today but the coaches told me that is something kind of experimental and I didn't need to be there. We've got six major farms, so I'm going to be doing this for a couple of more weeks."
Kelley has experience and he's been doing harvest for awhile in order to be a wheat cutter.
In the fall in football, he's an experienced cutter whether it is cutting down ball carriers and quarterbacks on defense or cutting down opposing defenders blocking on the offense line for the Terriers. The 6-4, 278-pound Kelley is a devastating player on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
Aden Kelley has Oklahoma State in his top four and likely his final two along with TCU.
Twitter (@KelleyAden)
His final four in recruiting included Oklahoma State, TCU, Iowa State, and Nebraska; but it really appears to be down to the Cowboys and the Horned Frogs and Kelley seems close and is getting plenty of time to think about it in the wheat fields.
He did not give us any kind of indication, but with Oklahoma State losing senior defensive tackle Cameron Murray and Amadou Fofana after this upcoming season the Cowboys are really looking to add one defensive tackle and Kelley is their top choice. You can see that he is a whole lot of fun to watch play, on either side of the ball. He strength and explosion dictate that he needs to be on defense.
Oklahoma State also wanted to add a defensive end, kind of a hybrid edge pass rusher and with linebacker Calvin Bundage a senior, the commitment of another Edmond Santa Fe standout in Collin Oliver gives the Pokes security with that position.
We will keep an eye out on Kelley, because he is the primary objective for defensive tackle recruiting.