He deserves some blame for allowing a couple of big plays in the game, but for the most part Todd Kelly Jr. had a very solid game. And he had a very difficult task.
Kelly helped to set the tone early for Tennessee football with an interception on the second play of the game. And although Trevor Knight had a solid day throwing the football, he helped keep him from going off in that high-powered offense.
He nearly had another interception in the second half, but the ball barely hit the ground.
With seven tackles and that interception, Kelly made sure to stay in proper position all day. Knight’s passing numbers of 17 for 34 for 239 yards is exactly what you want to force him to do. Now the 110 yards rushing and three touchdowns by him were obviously an issue.
And Kelly does deserve some blame for that.
However, it’s extremely hard to defend Knight in Kevin Sumlin’s offense. So as a playmaker who helped keep Texas A&M from scoring most of the time they had the ball, Kelly belongs on this list. He is finally emerging as a Tennessee football star.
That’s especially true in the second half. And part of Kelly’s success was due to help from another over-achiever. We are going to name him next.