Kelly’s quickness key to Trojan hopes

  USC Sports Information Kareem Kelly

By Hannah Gordon
Daily Bruin Reporter

Of course he’s fast.

Ask anyone about USC junior wide receiver Kareem Kelly and the
first thing they will tell you is that speed is his most obvious
asset.

The sprinter was clocked at 5.67 seconds in the 50-meter, an
American collegiate record, and he doesn’t hesitate to burn a
defensive back with that speed.

“Every time he lines up, he’s a big play
threat,” UCLA cornerbacks coach R. Todd Littlejohn said.
“I know they are going to try to get the ball to him and we
respect his speed and ability.”

Kelly will be key to the Trojan success with their top two
running backs out.

Only a junior, he ranks fifth on the Trojan all-time receptions
list and is the team’s leading receiver. But what agitates
the Bruins is Kelly’s success against them the past two
years.

In his freshman year Kelly helped lead USC to its first victory
in The Crosstown Battle in eight years when he caught two touchdown
passes in the 17-7 game.

Last year Kelly made six receptions for 91 yards, including a
39-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 21 going into
halftime.

Kelly does not know what it is like to lose the crosstown
battle, but former Long Beach Poly teammate Marques Anderson would
not mind teaching him.

“Whoever wins this game has bragging rights for 365
days,” the Bruin senior strong safety said. “The last
time they won they acted like the field was theirs when they beat
us at our house.”

Anderson, who maintains a close relationship off the field with
the Trojan wideout, describes Kelly as like a little brother since
he took him under his wing his last two years at Long Beach
Poly.

“Once we get on the field, it’s all trash-talking
and goings-on. But as soon as those sixty minutes are up,
we’re brothers again,” he said.

Kelly earns respect from other Bruins as well.

“He’s a deep threat because he is shifty and
quick,” senior strong safety Jason Stephens said.

“He reminds me of myself,” junior cornerback Ricky
Manning Jr. said. “No matter what the situation, no matter
their record: he’s got a lot of confidence and he’s
going to come ready to play. Exactly like me.”

At 6-foot-2, Kelly has a height advantage on the 5-9 Manning,
but Manning has covered much taller receivers before. And is
Manning fast enough?

“Of course I am,” he said with the confidence he and
Kelly share.

Kelly, though, may be at a slight disadvantage against the 6-3
true freshmen Matt Ware and UCLA’s safeties, who all outweigh
the 190-pound Kelly.

“His weakness is his strength. I think he’s a little
frail,” Anderson said. “If you jam him or bump him off
the line he won’t be able to get you but if you don’t
put your hands on him he’s fast enough to get away from
you.”

Of course he’s fast.

But only Saturday can determine whether that is enough to give
him his third crosstown victory in a row.