Alex Kelley

Wyoming

Sep 20 (Sat)

8:15 p.m.

Photo by: Tony Harman

Position:
Center
Height:
6-2
Weight:
310
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Oceanside, Calif.
High School:
Vista

AT COLORADO: Career—He appeared in 51 games (38 starts including the ’16 Alamo Bowl).

2016 (Sr.)—He started 13 games at center including the Alamo Bowl (missing the Idaho State game with an injury that snapped a run of 26 consecutive starts). He collected third-team All-Pac-12 honors from Phil Steele’s College Football and honorable mention honors from the league coaches. He played 895 snaps (every one in six games), being credited with 14 touchdown blocks (direct), 14 perfect plays on passing touchdowns and nine knockdown blocks. He only allowed one-and-a-half sacks on the season. He scored the first touchdown by a Buffalo offensive lineman since Oct. 28, 1995, when OG Heath Irwin recovered a fumble in the end zone in a 44-21 loss to Nebraska: he pounced on a fumble in the end zone on CU's first drive of the season against Colorado State. In the process, he became the first offensive lineman in CU history to score the team's first points of the year. He played an additional six snaps on the field goal/PAT unit on special teams. Athlon Sports again selected him as a fourth-team All-Pac-12 preseason team member.

2015 (Jr.)—He started all 13 games at center, and played the second-most snaps on offense (956 out of a possible 1,008); he was one of four players who was in for all 114 snaps on offense at UCLA, which set a school record (and it was actually 115 when counting a two-point conversion play). He graded out to over 80 percent in 12 games, and for the season he owned a 58.1 plus-play percentage and an overall grade of 88.2 percent; his highest game grades were against Arizona State for overall (97.1 percent) and Nicholls State for plus plays (73.9). He had 13 knockdown blocks while tying for the team-highs with nine touchdown blocks and 13 perfect protection plays on TD passes. He was called for just two penalties, allowed four quarterback sacks and 14 pressures. He was one of 63 centers nationwide on the official preseason watch list for the 2015 Rimington Award, which is presented to the nation’s top center, and was a second-team All-Colorado team member as selected by the state’s NFF chapter. Athlon Sports and Phil Steele’s College Football both selected him as a fourth-team All-Pac-12 preseason team member. He was one of 12 players on CU’s leadership council, which essentially served as team captains.

2014 (Soph.)—He started all 12 games at center, as he tied for the most snaps played on the team with 988, or all but eight of the team’s 996. He had 571 “plus plays” on the year, giving him a 57.8 plus play percentage, and when including 290 even plays, he had an overall grade of 87.1 percent for the year. He had 19 knockdown blocks and three direct touchdown blocks while allowing only one quarterback sack, the low by the five offensive line regulars. He also had 26 perfect plays on touchdown passes and allowed just seven pressures. His top plus play percentage game was against Oregon State (66.7), with his best overall grade against California (94.5 in a game where CU ran 110 plays on offense).   He played another 29 snaps on the field goal/PAT unit on special teams.

2013 (Fr.-RS)—He saw action in all 12 games, nine on offense and all 12 on special teams, serving as one of the three protectors on the punt unit, a rare assignment for an offensive lineman. He played 97 snaps from scrimmage on offense, with 58 plus plays; that worked to a 59.8 plus percentage (actual grade was higher as they take into account neutral results). He had three knockdown blocks and did not allow a quarterback sack or pressure while not being flagged for a penalty. The coaches named him the recipient of the Joe Romig Award as the most improved offensive lineman in the spring.

2012 (Fr.)—Redshirted; he practiced along the offensive line the entire fall. A member of the 2011 recruiting class, he wound up joining the team in January, delaying his enrollment after he suffered a broken ankle playing recreational football in the early summer on a beach near his home. Thus, he was a “grayshirt” (and counts back to the ’11 class).

HIGH SCHOOL—As a senior, SuperPrep named him to its All-Far West team, ranking him the No. 98 player overall in the region, the No. 15 offensive lineman but the first center on the list. Scout.com ranked him as the No. 122 player from California and No. 22 center in the country (the top center in California and the No. 2 center in the west). ESPN also ranked him the No. 122 player from California, the No. 16 center in the country (No. 2 from California). He also earned first-team All-CIF San Diego Section and second-team All-State (by Cal-Hi Sports) honors. He garnered first-team All-League honors twice, in the Avocado League as a senior and in the Palomar League as a junior; Vista switched leagues for the 2010 season. He recorded 108 pancake blocks his senior year, anchoring an offensive line that helped Vista score 34.2 point per game (30 or more points in eight games). The offense racked up 416.8 yard of offense per game (234.7 rushing), totaling over 3,000 net yards rushing for the year, featuring a 1,500-yard rusher. His junior season, he had 60 pancake blocks as Vista averaged 31.3 points per game and 343 yards per game on offense (226 on the ground). As a sophomore, he had 30 pancake blocks. His top game his senior year came when Vista defeated heavily favored Torrey Pines 24-21 in the CIF semifinals en route to the championship. His junior year, his favorite moment came when Vista defeated La Costa Canyon, 47-7, snapping its 23-game win streak in the CIF semifinal match-up. Under coach Dan Williams, Vista was 29-9 in his three seasons there, including two championship seasons his junior (10-3 record) and senior (12-1) years. VHS won the Avocado League and CIF San Diego Section Championship in 2010 after claiming the Palomar League title his junior year, when they advanced to the CIF San Diego Section championship game. He also lettered three times in wrestling, earning first-team All-CIF San Diego Section honors as a junior and senior and a three-time, first-team All-Palomar League performer as a heavyweight.

ACADEMICS—He graduated in August 2016 with a degree in both EBIO (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology) and English, and is interested in sports medicine or coaching as a possible career after football. As a senior in high school, he was named to the 2010 All-Academic Team by the San Diego Union-Tribune for maintaining above a 3.0 grade point average.

PERSONAL—He was born December 1, 1992 in Madrid, Spain, where his parents were working as missionaries (he was 7-years old when they moved to the states). His hobbies include hanging out with friends and going to the beach. His father (Karry) lettered four times at offensive tackles for the Buffaloes from 1976-79, starting his senior year; an older brother (Hal) completed his career at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo in 2010, where he started at center for two seasons. He spent two weeks in the summer of 2010 in Haiti passing out supplies to earthquake victims and helping build an orphanage.