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Kevin Kelley


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I'm sure some of you have heard of Kevin Kelley, he's the ex Arkansas High School coach who almost never punts, always onside kicks and always goes for 2 on PATs. He got a job at Presbyterian College in the offseason and just won his first game 84-43, the starting QB had 10 TD passes. I'm really interested to see how he does this season and beyond.

 

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This is the guy that was at Polaski or some such in Arkansas? If so, I'm glad to see him get a shot at a higher level, as I've always believed his approach could change things fundamentally within the sport. Watching the resistance in comments from other long time coaches absolutely cemented the notion for me. Hell, if he's not too old, I wouldn't be surprised to see him kill it at Presbyterian and then have someone take a chance on him at a G5, which would be tremendous to see tested at the next level. 

Thanks for the heads up. 

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1 minute ago, closetojumping said:

This is the guy that was at Polaski or some such in Arkansas? If so, I'm glad to see him get a shot at a higher level, as I've always believed his approach could change things fundamentally within the sport. Watching the resistance in comments from other long time coaches absolutely cemented the notion for me. Hell, if he's not too old, I wouldn't be surprised to see him kill it at Presbyterian and then have someone take a chance on him at a G5, which would be tremendous to see tested at the next level. 

Thanks for the heads up. 

Agreed.  I don’t think you’re gonna take down Bama playing that way, but I absolutely think you could have some 9 or 10 win seasons at UNT.

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13 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

This is the guy that was at Polaski or some such in Arkansas? If so, I'm glad to see him get a shot at a higher level, as I've always believed his approach could change things fundamentally within the sport. Watching the resistance in comments from other long time coaches absolutely cemented the notion for me. Hell, if he's not too old, I wouldn't be surprised to see him kill it at Presbyterian and then have someone take a chance on him at a G5, which would be tremendous to see tested at the next level. 

Thanks for the heads up. 

Yes he was at Pulaski, he won 9 3A state titles there.

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14 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

Agreed.  I don’t think you’re gonna take down Bama playing that way, but I absolutely think you could have some 9 or 10 win seasons at UNT.

I mean you're not going to take down Alabama because they're great. But if you're a big underdog then is there really a huge difference between Alabama taking over at their 35 yard line instead of your 40 yard line? Current Alabama is exactly the kind of opponent that this needs to be tried against.

The real issue is pride. Coaches would rather lose 45-10 than 70-35. But in the end who gives a shit? You lost.

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1 hour ago, Huckleberry said:

I mean you're not going to take down Alabama because they're great. But if you're a big underdog then is there really a huge difference between Alabama taking over at their 35 yard line instead of your 40 yard line? Current Alabama is exactly the kind of opponent that this needs to be tried against.

The real issue is pride. Coaches would rather lose 45-10 than 70-35. But in the end who gives a shit? You lost.

I can get behind always go for 2 & rarely punting. The onside kick thing seems dumb beyond the HS level given how low of a success rate there is. Especially if you’re already “stealing possessions” by converting a bunch of 4th downs.  
 

I also thought Kyler Murray was too short to be a successful QB after high school though so what do I know.

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5 minutes ago, Helobious said:

onside kick thing seems dumb beyond the HS level given how low of a success rate there is. Especially if you’re already “stealing possessions” by converting a bunch of 4th downs.  

It does seem weird until you realize the kick spends all his time practicing onside kicks and the coverage team practices all reps on onside kicks.  The opposing team just spends one week practicing against it. 

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22 minutes ago, Helobious said:

I can get behind always go for 2 & rarely punting. The onside kick thing seems dumb beyond the HS level given how low of a success rate there is. Especially if you’re already “stealing possessions” by converting a bunch of 4th downs.  
 

I also thought Kyler Murray was too short to be a successful QB after high school though so what do I know.

They actually went 1/10 on onside kicks in their recent game

When looking this up I found this info

Quote

Cameras and boom microphones from HBO and Overtime covered the sideline to document Kelley’s first game for upcoming features. Both outlets couldn’t have scripted a more fitting opening scene as Presbyterian won the toss, deferred and then Campbell Watson recovered Warner Bush’s onside kick.

Can't find anything on either group's show they are working on

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4 minutes ago, nineliveslost said:

I think it could have breathed fresh air to the place and give them an opportunity for more exposure. You know the news and ESPN would be all over it .

 

 

Anything would be better than the shit show they have now

i like the guy, but it's a huge jump from Pulaski Academy to Kansas.

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SO- the one thing about the onside kicks is that this was prior to the two bounce rule in college and pro football. Also, prior to changing some alignments in college football.  He had lots more looks he could use on onside kicks and a likely greater chance of success.

My assumption would be that his defense is pretty attacking and they don't worry so much about stopping you as turnovers and inflicting big damage to get you behind the sticks and off schedule.  

If you are going to fully commit to basketball on grass why not.   Mike Leach was kind of going this direction already.  If I was a top destination school with future pros all over my defense I wouldn't take a chance on this guy- but if I was anywhere lower than 3rd or 4th in my conference I would give it a shot.  No doubt much of what he's doing makes sense if you come in as a dog and are less talented than who you are playing.  Will some games get away from you?  Sure, but you will also steal some. 

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Oh it’s better than y’all think.

When some of you degenerates sit down to watch teams like UT warm up, you’ll see them walk the field in warm ups, come back out in pads and start some drills about 60 minutes prior to kickoff and they go in with like 15-30 minutes left before coming back out to play.

Oh but not this dude. Kelley’s teams show up to the stadium like 25-30 minutes before the game, run to the locker room to quickly get dressed and they spend whatever spare time warming up.

With Kevin it’s non-stop insanity, but when you look at his analytics…it’s not THAT insane.

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The onsides kick thing is part and parcel  to the overarching philosophy- never willingly give up the football. 
 

aside from extra possessions, another  benefit is fewer long drives against your defense (only when the offense fails when close to scoring and fg is missed or not attempted)

one thing though that I haven’t seen discussed is what happens if they go up against another team that uses the same philosophy. So far, I’m guessing he has played against conventional team strategy either exclusively or almost so. 

Edited by Pato del Muerto
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7 hours ago, closetojumping said:

In looking at that box score on ESPN, holy shit.

14 players had a rush attempt.

18 players caught a pass.

9 players caught a touchdown pass.

6 XPs on 12 touchdowns. So, they went for 2 points 6 times, and given the score, I assume they converted 3 of 6. 

Dude had 3 different QBs making pass attempts as well.

If there were such a concept of 'Helter Skelter' in football, this would be it.

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I vaguely recall a couple articles a few years ago about a flag football offense. I think it involved always looking to pitch after a forward pass. Id like to see someone attempt that. 

 

https://www.footballstudyhall.com/2015/8/18/9166647/no-punting-and-now-bringing-rugby-to-football-an-interview-with-coach

Edited by CleverNickname
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19 hours ago, closetojumping said:

In looking at that box score on ESPN, holy shit.

14 players had a rush attempt.

18 players caught a pass.

9 players caught a touchdown pass.

6 XPs on 12 touchdowns. So, they went for 2 points 6 times, and given the score, I assume they converted 3 of 6. 

Dude had 3 different QBs making pass attempts as well.

Yeah but we all know how bad that St. Andrews' defense is.

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One of my boys played for a coach that adopted this style from Kevin Kelley.  I could count the punts for an entire season on one hand with fingers to spare.  Sometimes it was fun to watch, sometimes it was painful.  They didn't have near the success that Kelley did (obviously), but they won more than they probably should have given the talent level.

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14 minutes ago, You don't know me said:

One of my boys played for a coach that adopted this style from Kevin Kelley.  I could count the punts for an entire season on one hand with fingers to spare.  Sometimes it was fun to watch, sometimes it was painful.  They didn't have near the success that Kelley did (obviously), but they won more than they probably should have given the talent level.

then that is success

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To add that story a little.  My son's coach left for a bigger school after my son's Junior year.  New coach came in and ran a much more conventional game plan.  Under the previous coach, they'd usually win at least 1 playoff game before getting bounced.  First year under the new coach they got bounced in the first round and had a running clock for pretty much the entire second half.  Not sure if it's the same in Texas, but here a running clock starts with a 35 point differential.  Pretty much the same starters on the offense and defense my son's junior and senior seasons.  Now, in the new coach's second season, they made it to the semi finals.  They are now in year three and are playing great so far without a single college prospect on the roster.  It's amazing how much coaching impacts high school sports.  Some coaches just have the ability to motivate players way beyond what the player thinks they can do.

Edited by You don't know me
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Offense held in check but defense steps up in 68-3 win over Ft Lauderdale.

Actually it looks like Kelley chewed clock, treated this like a practice. Ft Lauderdale is a new school with an even newer program.

Next week the Blue Hose head to Buie's Creek, NC to take on the 0-2 Campbell Fighting Camels. 

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4 hours ago, MaybeACoordinator said:

Offense held in check but defense steps up in 68-3 win over Ft Lauderdale.

Actually it looks like Kelley chewed clock, treated this like a practice. Ft Lauderdale is a new school with an even newer program.

Next week the Blue Hose head to Buie's Creek, NC to take on the 0-2 Campbell Fighting Camels. 

Lol “held in check”

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