Tennessee lands Kelly

Oak Park, Mich., athlete John Kelly planned to take official visits straight through the end of the month, but in the end he only needed one to make his college selection.

"I've decided to go ahead and pick Tennessee," Kelly said. "I knew that was the place I wanted to be after we left (the official visit), but at the same time I wanted to talk it over with my parents and let them know how everything was. We had to definitely come home and think on it for a few days."

This past weekend's official visit was Kelly's first time on Tennessee's campus. Even before he left for Knoxville, though, the thought of being a Volunteer was already on his mind.

"I was really thinking about it going into the weekend," Kelly said. "My whole thing was I wanted to get a chance to see everything. I wanted to see the campus, wanted to hang out with some of the players and another thing that really blew me away was all the love I was getting from the other recruits."

One of the Tennessee commits that has been encouraging Kelly toward the Vols is five-star defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie. The offer from Tennessee came in late November, and his relationship with the coaches and recruits has grown since.

"It has been a real good vibe for the last month," Kelly said.

The 5-foot-10, 191-pound Kelly is listed as an athlete and he could project to either side of the football in college. Tennessee plans to use them in their offensive backfield.

"The situation is they want me to play running back, which is what I have really been wanting to play," Kelly said. "As of right now Tennessee has two running backs there on scholarship. I know in the SEC you can't just go in with one running back, you're going to have to have a good group of guys.

"The guys that are there are really cool guys. I have been in contact with Alvin Kamara already. Me and Jalen (Hurd) haven't had a chance to talk yet, but me and Alvin definitely had a chance to talk and we are all on the same page. As long as we're all on the same page, I know we're going to be a pretty good group."

An official visit had been planned to Minnesota for this upcoming weekend and he was considering official visits with both Michigan and Michigan State. Following Thursday's announcement, though, Kelly will no longer go through with those trips.

"I've had a chance to already go up there and see those schools," Kelly said. "I am a pretty loyal guy, so I am just going to be done with it."

Kelly is a three-star, ranked as the No. 29 athlete prospect in the 2015 class. He led Oak Park to an 8-3 record as a senior by rushing 124 times for 1,321 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.

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