Todd Eric Kelly (born November 27, 1970) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

who played for four seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was drafted in the first round of the

1993 NFL Draft The 1993 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot Ma ...

by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. He also played for the Cincinnati Bengals and the Atlanta Falcons. He played college football at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

, where he was a captain of the 1992 team, and received All- SEC and All-American AP honors.Career Football Statistics
, UTSports.com. Retrieved: August 7, 2013.

High school career

Kelly attended Bethel High School in Hampton, Virginia, where he played football and baseball, and ran track. He played defensive end and

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

for the football team, registering six sacks and five interceptions on defense, and catching 18 passes and scoring five touchdowns on offense during his senior year to win All-State honors. He was timed at 4.5 seconds in the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a h ...

, which was unusually fast for a defensive lineman. As a member of the track team, Kelly won the state's

high hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

title as a sophomore, with a best of 14.1 seconds.1989 Tennessee Signees
" ''1989 Tennessee Volunteers Football Guide'', p. 86. He received All-State honors in baseball, and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 1989 June Amateur Draft.

College career

Kelly initially committed to

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

in 1989, but switched his commitment to Tennessee following the death of South Carolina coach Joe Morrison.John Shearer,
Todd Kelly Found New Team, Wife on Visit to Vols
" ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', August 16, 2012. Retrieved: August 7, 2013. Due to a lack of depth on the defensive line, he played in eight games during his freshman year as a backup to veteran

Marion Hobby Marion Hobby (born November 7, 1966 in Irondale, Alabama) is an American football coach who is the defensive line coach for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). Playing career Hobby played college football at the Un ...

, picking up 6 tackles and a sack. While working with defensive coaches

Larry Lacewell Larry Lacewell (February 12, 1937 – May 17, 2022) was an American football player, coach, scout, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Arkansas State University from 1979 to 1989, compiling a record of ...

and Rex Norris,Tom Mattingly,
Todd Kelly: Moving to the Top
" ''Tennessee vs. Florida Football Program'' (1992), pp. 18-19. Kelly remained on the second unit during the 1990 season, picking up 21 tackles (14 solo) and a team-leading 5 sacks. He had two sacks in Tennessee's 45-3 win over

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and forced a fumble that led to a score in the Vols' 26-26 tie against Auburn. During his junior year in 1991, Kelly registered 23 tackles (14 solo) and 5.5 sacks (3rd-highest on the team), playing mostly as a backup to senior Chuck Smith. He had three tackles and a sack in the Vols' 30-21 win over Auburn, and registered four tackles and a sack in the team's loss to Florida. He had a sack and forced a fumble in Tennessee's 25-24 loss to

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

. He tallied four tackles and a sack in Tennessee's loss to Penn State in the 1992 Fiesta Bowl. Kelly's first career start came in Tennessee's 1992 season-opening win over

Southwest Louisiana Southwest Louisiana (SWLA) is a five-parish area intersecting the Acadiana and Central Louisiana regions in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is composed of the following parishes (counties): Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Dav ...

, in which he registered three tackles and a sack. He registered 2.5 sacks in Tennessee's 34-31 win over

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, and led a rushing defense that held Florida to just 68 yards on the ground in the Vols' 31-14 win over the Gators. He recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter of Tennessee's 17-10 loss to Alabama, and registered a sack in Tennessee's 38-23 win over Boston College in the

1993 Hall of Fame Bowl The 1993 Hall of Fame Bowl featured the 16th-ranked Boston College Eagles, and the 17th-ranked Tennessee Vols. It was the seventh edition to the Hall of Fame Bowl. The game marked the first for the Vols under new head coach Phillip Fulmer, repla ...

. He finished the season with 38 tackles (28 solo), a team-leading 11 sacks, and a team-leading 10 tackles-for-loss. He was named All-SEC and first-team All-American at the end of the season. During his four years at Tennessee, Kelly registered 88 tackles (58 solo), 22.5 sacks, 14 tackles-for-loss, and two forced fumbles. He is fifth on the school's career sacks list, trailing only

Derek Barnett Derek Anthony Barnett (born June 25, 1996) is an American football defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee, and was drafted by the Eagles with the 14th overall pic ...

(33),

Reggie White Reginald Howard White (December 19, 1961 – December 26, 2004) was an American professional football player who played defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. He played college football for ...

(32),

Leonard Little Leonard Antonio Little (born October 19, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL). Little played college football for the Tennessee Volunte ...

(28) and Jonathan Brown (25). His 11 sacks in 1992 is tied with Little's 1995 tally for the school's fourth-highest single-season total (only White, Brown, and John Henderson have had more sacks in a season). In October 2014, Kelly was named Tennessee's selection for that year's SEC Football Legends Class.

Professional career

Kelly was selected by the

in the first round (27th pick overall) of the

. During his rookie year, he played in 14 games and started in five, registering one sack. During the 1994 season, Kelly played in 11 games, and registered 9 tackles and 3.5 sacks. He appeared with the 49ers in the team's 49-26 victory over

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

in Super Bowl XXIX.Todd Kelly, Pete Kutz to Lead VASF Fund Drive
" UTSports.com, January 15, 2004. Retrieved: August 7, 2013. Kelly was cut by the 49ers prior to the 1995 season. He was claimed on waivers a few days later by the Cincinnati Bengals. He appeared in all 16 games for the Bengals in 1995, playing primarily as a speed rusher on passing downs. He was cut by the Bengals prior to the 1996 season, but was re-signed for two games in October. He finished the season with the Atlanta Falcons. During his four seasons in the NFL, Kelly registered 27 tackles, 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and a pass break up.

Personal life and post-playing career

Kelly returned to

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

, with his family, following his NFL career. He works as a Commercial Excellence Executive for Boston Scientific (Peripheral Intervention), and served as a youth football coach from 2003 to 2009. Kelly met his wife, Renee, a former Vol Hostess, at Tennessee in 1989. Their son, Todd Kelly, Jr., was a consensus four-star defensive back at the

Webb School of Knoxville Webb School of Knoxville is a private coeducational day school in Knoxville, Tennessee, enrolling students from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. It was founded in 1955 by Robert Webb (1919–2005), grandson of Webb School of Bell Buckle found ...

, and played for Tennessee from 2014 to 2018 and graduated.Terry Brooks,
Todd Kelly Jr. Commits to UT
," WBIR.com, March 10, 2013. Retrieved: August 7, 2013. Their daughter Clarke was on the All-Girl 2015 National Championship cheerleading team at Alabama and was graduate in 2015 . A member of

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...

fraternity.

References

External links

1995 Photograph of Todd Kelly
– Getty Images {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Todd 1970 births Living people Players of American football from Hampton, Virginia Players of American football from Knoxville, Tennessee American football linebackers American football defensive ends Tennessee Volunteers football players San Francisco 49ers players Cincinnati Bengals players Atlanta Falcons players