Ole Miss Football: Tight End Casey Kelly enters Transfer Portal
After spending four years as a member of the Ole Miss football team tight end Casey Kelly has announced that he has entered the NCAA transfer portal.
We are about two weeks into spring practice for Ole Miss football and that’s the amount of time it has taken tight end Casey Kelly to decide he will be taking his talents elsewhere. Casey Kelly is the younger brother of former Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly.
At first, it seemed to be a rumor but Kelly confirmed the news on his Instagram account sharing a post that stated he was intending to enter the transfer portal.
Kelly redshirted his first year in Oxford. In his three active years with the Rebels, Kelly totaled 28 receptions for 282 yards and three touchdowns. He had his best season in 2021 when he appeared in 12 of 13 total games and posted 17 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown.
This past season Kelly appeared in 11 games, hauling in three receptions for 17 yards and a touchdown. Due to a couple of injuries that have hampered his play, Kelly struggled to become a mainstay in the Rebels’ offense.
While Kelly’s departure may at least clear up a cloudy tight end room, there remain a lot of question marks at the position. Ole Miss has struggled to find solid production from anyone at the tight-end position in recent years.
A year ago former four-star prospect and Under Armour All-American Michael Trigg transferred in from USC along with teammate Jaxson Dart after a promising start as a true Freshman. This past year Trigg failed to live up to the hype due to injuries and being in and out of the lineup posting 17 catches for 156 yards and three touchdowns.
The other favorite to take over the position for the Rebels is Memphis transfer, Caden Prieskorn. Prieskorn was named second-team all-conference in the AAC last year and was named first-team all-conference by Pro Football Focus after racking up over 600 yards and seven touchdowns.
Kelly was expected to be in the mix to be a rotation player at tight end, now we will see if it is Trigg, Prieskorn, or someone else who will step up and hopefully provide some meaningful production from the position.