John Kelly

RB · Tennessee 2017 · #4

Last confirmed: Tennessee, 2017. No 2026 box-score games on record.

5′9″ · 205 lb · Detroit, MI

John Kelly: RB · Tennessee · #4.

Players he’s like

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

John Kelly

RB · Tennessee · #4

Wins in space out of the backfield. He has spent three seasons in the Tennessee backfield. On tape: 141 rushing yards and 96 receiving yards against Florida, Week 3, 2017.

How he plays

How he plays

Play style

Deployed as a receiver as much as a runner. Value is in space, not between the tackles.

Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape

Steady, not spectacular

188Carries
776Yards
19.7%Top-5 share
26.6%Stuffed rate

Just 19.7% of his season rushing yards came on his 5 best carries — remarkably even — and he's stuffed on 26.6% of his carries. 9 carries for 17 yds vs Missouri; 19 for 141 vs Florida.

Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.

Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share

Not actually a closer

50.7%Carry share
37.5%Q4-lead share
93.3%In competitive games

50.7% of carries overall (188/371) → 37.5% of Q4-with-lead carries (15/40) — 93.3% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.

Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.

Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration

Who gets the tough yard

8/133rd/4th & short
11/15Inside-5 share

8 of 13 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (61.5%). 11 of the team's 15 inside-the-5 carries (73.3%).

News and fans

No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.

Tennessee in the news

Where to follow him