Race for Kelly heating up
Two teams sit atop the interest list of Oak Park, Mich., three-star athlete John Kelly, and he plans to see both schools in the next week.
Michigan State is one of those programs at the top of Kelly's list, and he will see the Spartans during their first week of summer camp.
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"I am going back up there on Wednesday to see practice," Kelly said. "That is the first day they get their pads, so that should be an intense practice."
The in-state prospect has visited Michigan State multiple times during his recruitment, including a stop by the campus last week.
"That went real well," Kelly said. "I got a chance to see a lot of my friends that came in with this 2014 class. I got a chance to spend time with Kurtis Drummond.
"I also talked to Coach (Mark) Dantonio a lot, and they pretty much want me to be a slot receiver. They don't have a lot of slot receivers and they are losing a lot of receivers in 2015."
The team that is providing Michigan State with their strongest competition for Kelly's services is Minnesota, and the Gopher's stock has not waned at all in the three-star athlete's mind.
"They still have a lot of momentum," Kelly said. "I actually just got off the phone with Coach Kill. I actually plan on visiting them next week, on Tuesday the 12th."
A visit to Minnesota has been scheduled for Aug. 12 to check out a summer practice. Kelly describes the battle between Michigan State and Minnesota as a "tie" at this time, but also suggested other schools remain in contention.
"It's kind of a closer gap than most people think it is," he said. "At the end of the day I always tell myself anything can happen in the recruiting process. Ohio State has entered a little bit more and also Cincinnati."
Ohio State has yet to offer the 5-foot-10, 191-pound Kelly, but Cincinnati has been on his offer list for several months.
"Coach (Steve) Clinkscale, the defensive backs coach, every time I talk to him he expresses to me how much he'd love to coach me and how well I fit into their system," Kelly said.
There is no immediate plans for a commitment from Kelly, but he is also open to deciding whenever he feels confident of his choice.
"I would really like to take my official visits, but I feel like I am going to make the decision once the time is right," he said. "I don't have a timeline or date on it."