Ryan Patrick Kelly (born May 30, 1993) is an

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 ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for the Indianapolis Colts of 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 played college football at

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 ...

, and was drafted by the Colts in first round (18th overall) of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015 NFL Draft, 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park (Chicago), ...

Early years

Kelly attended

Lakota West High School Lakota West High School is a four-year, public high school in West Chester Township, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is a member of the Lakota Local School District, which comprises both West Chester Township and Liberty Township ...

in West Chester, Ohio, where he was teammates with

Jordan Hicks Jordan Hicks (born June 27, 1992) is an American football middle linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) who won a Super Bowl ring with the Philadelphia Eaglesin 2018. He played college football at Texas. Hi ...

. As a junior in 2009, he was a first team all-conference and all-city selection on the offensive line. During his senior season, he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the last game of his season against rival Lakota East, yet he still was named third-team Division I All-Ohio. Although selected, he was unable to play at the

Under Armour All-America Game The Under Armour High School All-America Game is a high school football all-star game typically held in early January in the U.S. state of Florida created to spotlight the nation’s top high school seniors. The game was first played on Januar ...

coming off of his knee injury. Rated as a three-star recruit by ''

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

'', Kelly was ranked as the No. 4 center prospect in his class. He collected numerous scholarship offers from major programs, including

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 ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, but none from his home-state

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tre ...

who signed the third-ranked center, Brian Bobek from Palatine, Illinois, instead. Kelly verbally committed to Alabama in July 2010.

College career

After redshirting his initial year in Tuscaloosa, Kelly came off the bench to play in 10 games of the 2012 season at center, backing up All-American senior

Barrett Jones Barrett A. Jones (born May 25, 1990) is a former American football guard. He played college football at Alabama, and was drafted by the Rams in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Early years Jones was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He atte ...

. Kelly was named to the SEC All-Freshman team, alongside

Amari Cooper Amari Cooper (born June 17, 1994) is an American football wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, where he was the Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation's top receiv ...

and T. J. Yeldon. In his sophomore year, Kelly took over starting duties from Jones, making the calls on an offensive line that ranked 23rd nationally and fourth in the SEC for fewest sacks allowed per game (1.31). As a junior, Kelly was named to the Rimington Trophy watch list and started 12 games at center. A highly reliable anchor on the offensive line, he missed just seven assignments in 806 snaps on the year for a 99.1 percent success rate and did not allow a quarterback sack. After wins at

and against Western Carolina he was named Alabama's Offensive Player of the Week. In his senior season, Kelly missed only eight assignments in 1,012 snaps for a success rate of 99.2 percent on the season, and committed just one penalty in 1,012 snaps with no holding calls. He was a consensus first team All-America selection, earning first-team honors from Walter Camp, USA Today, Sporting News, the FWAA, and the AFCA, and won the

Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National College ...

in 2015.

Professional career

The Indianapolis Colts selected Kelly in the first round (18th overall) of the

. The Colts drafted him with the expectation of him becoming “the first solid center for the franchise since

Jeff Saturday Jeffrey Bryant Saturday (born June 18, 1975) is an American football coach and former center who is the interim head coach for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of North Ca ...

.” He was Alabama's first interior offensive lineman selected in the first round since

Chance Warmack Chance Warmack (born September 14, 1991) is an American football guard who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans tenth overall in the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Alabama, and earned All-American honors. Hig ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

. On May 4, 2016, the Indianapolis Colts signed Kelly to a fully guaranteed four-year, $10.45 million

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

that includes a signing bonus of $5.80. He started all 16 games at center during his rookie year. On August 17, 2017, it was revealed that Kelly would undergo foot surgery for a broken bone he suffered during practice. He missed the first four weeks of the season, and went on to start the next seven games. He suffered a concussion in Week 12 and missed the next three games before being placed on injured reserve on December 18, 2017. On April 27, 2019, the Colts picked up the fifth-year option on Kelly's contract. On September 4, 2020, the Colts signed Kelly to a four-year, $50 million extension, making him the highest paid center in the NFL.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

On December 17, 2021 Kelly and his wife Emma lost their newborn daughter due to a heart failure.

References

External links

Indianapolis Colts bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Ryan 1993 births Living people People from West Chester, Butler County, Ohio Sportspeople from the Cincinnati metropolitan area Players of American football from Ohio American football centers Alabama Crimson Tide football players All-American college football players Indianapolis Colts players American Conference Pro Bowl players