Kareem Kelly


Kareem Kelly is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. World junior record holder over indoor 50 meters 5.67 sec. He played college football at USC.
He has also been a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League, Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League, the Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears of the National Football League, and the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League.

Early years

Football

He played football at the high school level at Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, California. He was a 1998 Super Prep All-American, Prep Star Dream Team Top 100, ESPN Top 100, The Sporting News 101 Prime Prospects, Rivalnet Top 100, USA Today All-USA honorable mention, Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-Western, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West first team, Orange County Register Fab 15 first team, Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Las Vegas Sun Super 11 first team, Cal-Hi Sports All-State second team, All-CIF Southern Section first team, All-CIF Division I first team, Los Angeles Times All-South Coast/Southeast and Long Beach Press-Telegram Dream Team first team as a senior at Long Beach Poly High. In 1998, he had 50 receptions for 1,096 yards and 17 touchdowns. He had one game with 8 catches for 181 yards and 3 touchdowns. Long Beach Poly was a CIF Division I finalist.
As a 1997 junior, he made All-CIF Southern Section second team, All-CIF Division I first team, Long Beach Press-Telegram second team and All-League while catching 43 passes for 560 yards and 9 touchdowns. Long Beach Poly was the CIF Division I champion. In his 3-year career, his team went 36-5. Former Trojans DeShaun Hill, Mike Pollard, Darrell Rideaux, Hershel Dennis and Winston Justice also prepped at Long Beach Poly.

Track

He also starred on the schools track team, which won the 1997 and 1998 state titles. As a junior, he was the 1998 state 200-meter champion in a meet-record 20.76 and a member of the state winning 400-meter relay squad. As a senior at the 1999 Arcadia Invitational, he was first in the 200 meters. At the 1999 CIF Division I meet, he was second in the 100 and 200, and ran on the winning 400 meter relay quartet. At the 1999 CIF Masters meet, he won the 100 and 200 and ran a leg on Poly's state record setting victorious 400 meter relay team. He was the 1999 state champion in the 100 and 200, and ran a leg on the state meet record setting 400 meter relay squad. His best times are 10.28 in the 100 meters and 20.53 in the 200.

College career

Football

Kelly played college football and ran track at the University of Southern California and is #3 on the Trojans all-time receiving list with 204 catches; during his tenure at USC he set the school-record for consecutive games with a catch, which has since been broken.

Freshman (1999)

In 1999, Kelly had the best season that any Pac-10 freshman wide receiver ever had. As the often-used backup to Windrell Hayes, he appeared in all 12 games in 1999 and caught 54 passes for a team-best 902 yards with 4 touchdowns. He set Pac-10 and USC freshman records for most catches and receiving yards. He was third in the Pac-10 in receiving yards. He was the only Trojan with a catch in every game in 1999. He had 4 outings with 100 receiving yards. He was named the 1999 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and to the 1999 The Sporting News Freshman All-American second team. He also returned 5 punts for 14 yards and ran 2 reverses for 17 yards. He began his USC career catching 5 passes for a game-best 104 yards at Hawaii. Against San Diego State, he had 6 catches for 98 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter as he outleaped an Aztec defender. He had 5 catches for 87 yards at University of Oregon, 3 receptions for 56 yards against Oregon State, and then 6 catches for 100 yards at Arizona. At Notre Dame, he hauled in a 58-yard pass to set up a score. He caught 8 passes for 129 yards against Stanford, then had 9 catches for 170 yards with a 72-yard touchdown at Cal. He had 6 catches for 51 yards against Arizona State, added a 10-yard reception at Washington State, had 3 grabs for 32 yards against UCLA and 1 for 7 yards versus Louisiana Tech.

Sophomore (2000)

Kelly started at wide receiver as a sophomore in 2000. He started 8 times at split end and once at flanker. He missed the Arizona game after spraining his ankle and straining his quadriceps at Oregon State. He was the much-used backup in the other 2 games. Overall in 2000 while appearing in 11 games, he led USC in receptions and yardage for a 14.5 average with 4 touchdowns. He also carried the ball 5 times on reverses for 8 yards and returned 6 punts for 22 yards. His 55 catches in 2000 is tied for 10th on USC's season list and is the most ever by a USC sophomore. By the end of 2000, he had 109 career receptions for 1,698 yards, with both marks being the most by a Trojan at the end of his sophomore season. Kelly had 2 catches for 15 yards against Penn State, then a career-best 10 catches for 145 yards against Colorado. Against San Jose State, he had a game-high 7 catches for 106 yards. He had 1 for 11 yards at Oregon State before suffering a strained right quad which sidelined him for the Arizona contest. He returned for the Oregon game and had 3 catches for 45 yards. He had a team-best 4 catches for 51 yards at Stanford, then a game-high 5 catches for 42 yards against California and 6 receptions for a game-high 85 yards at Arizona State. He had a game-high 7 catches for 114 yards against Washington State, then a game-high 6 catches for 91 yards at UCLA and 4 catches for a game-best 91 yards against Notre Dame.

Junior (2001)

Kelly started for his third season at wide receiver as a junior in 2001. Overall in 2001 while appearing in all 12 games, he had a team-best 49 receptions for 801 yards with 3 touchdowns, plus ran for 38 yards on 6 reverses and returned 8 punts for 51 yards. He had a pair of 100-yard receiving games in 2001. He was on the "Watch List" for the 2001 Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's top receiver. He had 3 catches for 18 yards in the San Jose State opener and returned a punt 10 yards, then added 7 grabs for 75 yards against Kansas State. He had 4 catches for a game-high 165 yards at Oregon, including a 93-yard touchdown. He had a game-high 6 receptions for 46 yards against Stanford. At Washington, he caught 3 passes for 93 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown. He added 5 receptions for 127 yards versus Arizona State, 2 catches for 16 yards at Notre Dame, 5 grabs for 64 yards at Arizona and 5 catches for 73 yards against Oregon State. At California, he caught a team-best 4 passes for a game-high 88 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown, and also ran 2 reverses for 23 yards. He caught 2 passes for 3 yards against UCLA and ran 2 reverses for 6 yards. He added a team-high 3 receptions for 33 yards against Utah.

Senior (2002)

Kelly started for his fourth year at wide receiver as a senior in 2002. He also returned punts. He made 2002 All-Pac-10 honorable mention. Overall in 2002 while appearing in all 13 games, he had 46 receptions for 605 yards with 4 touchdowns, plus he had a 1-yard run on a reverse and returned 11 punts for 76 yards. He did not start 2 mid-season games, but he did play in those contests. He missed part of 2002 spring practice with a hamstring strain. He also has sprinted for the USC track team. He caught a game-best 6 passes for 66 yards with a touchdown against Auburn and also returned 2 punts for 0 yards. He had 4 catches for 36 yards at Colorado and returned 4 punts for 31 yards. At Kansas State, he caught 3 passes for 42 yards and returned a punt 19 yards. He had a 6-yard catch against Oregon State. He had a game-best 8 catches for 66 yards at Washington State. He caught 3 passes for 19 yards against California, including a 6-yard touchdown. He caught a 16-yard pass against Washington. At Oregon, he had 6 receptions for 94 yards, with a 31-yard touchdown. He had 3 receptions for 69 yards at Stanford. He had an 11-yard catch versus Arizona State. At UCLA, he had 4 catches for a game-high 94 yards and leaped high for a 34-yard touchdown catch on the game's first play. He had 3 catches for 12 yards against Notre Dame to get a share of the USC career reception record and the Pac-10 and NCAA records for consecutive games with a reception. Against Iowa in the Orange Bowl, he had 3 catches for 74 yards to set an NCAA record for consecutive games with a catch en route to becoming Troy's career reception leader. He was invited to play in the 2003 East-West Shrine Game.

Career

Kelly owns USC's career pass catching record. He is second on the USC list for receiving yards, behind Johnnie Morton's 3,201. He had a catch in all 48 games he played as a Trojan, tying the Pac-10 record with Keenan Howry of Oregon, which has since been broken by Michael Larkin of Miami University.

Track

Kelly also sprinted for the USC track team.

Sophomore (2000)

In the spring of 2000, he competed in February and March before having to sit out because of eligibility reasons. In his Trojan sprinting debut, he clocked a world junior record and American collegiate record 5.67 to place second in the 50-meter dash in the Los Angeles Indoor Invitational. He then won a heat in the 100 meters at the Trojan Invitational in 10.33 and was fifth in the 100 meters at the ASU USTCA Invitational in 10.57. He also anchored the victorious 400-meter relay teams at the Trojan Invitational and USC's Centennial Invitational. He qualified for the World Junior Championships in the 100 and 200.

Junior (2001)

In the spring of 2001, he competed in a pair of March meets before spring football practice began. He won his heat in the 100 meters at the Trojan Invitational. He also anchored USC's victorious 400-meter relay squads at the Trojan Invitational and the USC-LSU Dual Meet. He did not return to the track squad after spring football drills because of a slight hamstring strain.

Senior (2002)

In the spring of 2002, his only track appearance came as the anchor leg on USC's sprint relay team at the NCAA meet which finished fifth in 39.27.

Professional career

He was selected in the 2003 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. Kelly played in all four preseason games, but was released prior to the start of the regular season. He has been on the practice squad for the Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears. He signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League on November 2, 2005. While with the Avengers he was one of three former Trojan teammates on the roster: fullback/linebacker Lonnie Ford and offensive/defensive lineman Bernard Riley. He signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League in May 2006, but was cut. He later retired from football but returned to sign a contract with the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League in 2010. He was released in July 2010.
Kareem recently opened his first full-service laundromat, International Wash, in Compton, California. He plans to expand the chain and open two more locations in Watts and Long Beach in the summer of 2013.