Kelly comments on his future

[OK2U]

from soonersports.com
About it possibly being his last game at Oklahoma:
Nah, I really don't know that. Right now, I'm coming back next year. There is a lot of stuff I can work on. As of right now, I'm still going to put the jersey on next season. I have to make a decision after the season. I'll sit down with my family. Sit down and talk to Coach Stoops about it. As of right now, I'll still be with the Crimson and Cream.

[OU-HSV]

Well, I would think that's pretty good news. Of course I doubt he'd say anything other than that at this point..even if he knew he was going to go pro.

[insuranceman_22]

from soonersports.com
About it possibly being his last game at Oklahoma:
Nah, I really don't know that. Right now, I'm coming back next year. There is a lot of stuff I can work on. As of right now, I'm still going to put the jersey on next season. I have to make a decision after the season. I'll sit down with my family. Sit down and talk to Coach Stoops about it. As of right now, I'll still be with the Crimson and Cream.

:pop: sort of like national signing day, just going to have to wait and see on this one......

[Crucifax Autumn]

I think he's staying.

[insuranceman_22]

I hope so, but I kind of think he's leaving....

[FroggyStyle22]

"I'm here for the long haul. We have the chance to do something special here." - Coach Petrino

[OklahomaTuba]

If he is projected to go in the first round, he should go get his pay check. No telling what next year will be like. Could be better, could be worse.

[illinisooner]

"I'm here for the long haul. We have the chance to do something special here." - Coach Petrino

Nick Satan doesn't believe you.

[KingDavid]

If he is projected to go in the first round, he should go get his pay check. No telling what next year will be like. Could be better, could be worse.

No one can totally predict the future, but given that we're effectively returning the entire offense next year and it will be Sam's second season to work with all of the same weapons, I think it's a safe bet that the odds of Kelly & the Sooners having a very special year in 2008 are definitely in his favor. Unless I was projected as a DEFINITE first round pick (i.e. the "experts" say I'm going in the top 10-15), then I would stay if I was Kelly. Lots of upside to staying. His only real downside is the risk of injury.

[KingDavid]

For the record, I think he'll stay. I think we keep all of our juniors for next year . . .

[rubyspirit]

I heard Kelly and Lofton both sent out the required paperwork to see what the interest in the NFL draft would be. If its the first round, he's gone.

This mock draft has MK as #15. Wow
http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/sub/mockdraft.html

[BoulderSooner79]

One article I read had Kelly saying he thought he would go higher than current predictions after the combine. That suggests to me he is leaning towards going even if the experts predict the bottom of the 1st round. I think he will go, but we keep all the other juniors. I've got my fingers crossed on Duke's decision.

[85sooners]

:pop:

[Sooner_Havok]

One article I read had Kelly saying he thought he would go higher than current predictions after the combine. That suggests to me he is leaning towards going even if the experts predict the bottom of the 1st round. I think he will go, but we keep all the other juniors. I've got my fingers crossed on Duke's decision.

I didn't think juniors could do the combine, only seniors

[bluedogok]

If they declare, they can go to the combine if invited, AD did last year. They cannot play in the "senior bowl" games, which most of the high picks don't anyway.

[soonermeteor]

I hope he stays, and I think if he has any doubts about the draft the fact that the Sooners could be developing one of our strongest teams next season could keep him here.


Bradford + Demarco + Kelly + returning team + great prospects = :pop:

[tulsaoilerfan]

I would love to see Kelly back, but it would be foolish to turn down mid first round $;with his size, speed, and hands, he should put up excellent combine numbers and could crack the top 10 depending on what those teams specific needs are

[SOONER STEAKER]

Players can move up and down the draft with a good or bad indivisual workout. I think all of it boils down to how the the family currently lives. If the family is stable, Kelly will return, if his fmily lives in a dump, across teh tracks, he signs pro. If malcolm realizes that football can only take him so far, he stays and gets his degree.

Just my 2 cents worth.

BOOMER

[StoopTroup]

Everytime I think they should stay...they leave.

I hope Kelly gets his dOUgh. :D

[CORNholio]

Kelly would be a huge playmaker again next year at OU. But nobody in his right mind would turn down millions if it were a sure thing. You can always graduate when your NFL career is over. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

[CORNholio]

Hope he comes back but I know what I would do.

[goingoneight]

I understand people wanting and sometimes convincing themselves that someone is coming back, convincing themselves that another year of school and damage to a superstar's body could be beneficial. In MK's case, maybe Curtis Lofton's also, they're ready. Reggie has bounced around too many positions and the reality in his situation is you have to be one BADASS cornerback to get the kind of money Malcom and Curtis can get leaving early. That's why you see a lot of converted "athletes" playing corner in the league. Curtis looks good, but so did Torrance Marshall. Curtis has only started one year so you never know if he could go in and be an Urlacher or a Boz. Much as I liked the Boz, we all know how that worked out.

Malcom, for a wideout, is in the same position AD was a year ago. He's an NFL star in the making who could make a potentially dangerous decision to return for his senior year.

[BoulderSooner79]

One article I read had Kelly saying he thought he would go higher than current predictions after the combine. That suggests to me he is leaning towards going even if the experts predict the bottom of the 1st round. I think he will go, but we keep all the other juniors. I've got my fingers crossed on Duke's decision.



I didn't think juniors could do the combine, only seniors

I meant that Kelly is looking for reasons to go, not reasons to stay. If he gets a low-first round prediction, he believes he would do better in reality. I can't imagine he would be told 2nd round or lower, so I'm thinking he is gone. But who knows, he has time to think about it.

[KingDavid]

Does anyone know who will be the top receivers eligible next year?

[Curly Bill]

If it goes up on vBookie MK staying versus MK going, I'm betting every cent I have that he goes.

[soonerboy_odanorth]

This really is an interesting phenomenon. All six guys from OU that filed for evaluation, if they were to get drafted, will, even if they are a lower round pick, make more money in a single year than 99% of us will make ever in a single year.

That's really hard to get one's head around.

So... Here's the deal....

These kids don't owe you and me who "spend all our hard earned money and make donations and pour our hearts and souls into the program.....one... damn... thing.

Now, you can argue that Bob Stoops and the University, etc., do.

But these kids don't.

Yet, the loyalty pull and college lifestyle pull is apparently strong enough to get them to consider giving us another year of enjoying their pretty significant physical talents.

I won't pretend to argue that any reasonable argument could support our society pouring the millions of dollars that it does into an entertainment venture.

But it does in entertainment, and it does in sports.

And with that, if even one of these six kids decides to come back and play, we should all consider ourselves the fortunate spectator.

I hope all of them come back.

I won't be upset at all if not one of them does. (Edit: I will ponder "What if?")

Please note: Adrian Peterson is a superstar. How cool.

[KingDavid]

Players can move up and down the draft with a good or bad indivisual workout. I think all of it boils down to how the the family currently lives. If the family is stable, Kelly will return, if his fmily lives in a dump, across teh tracks, he signs pro. If malcolm realizes that football can only take him so far, he stays and gets his degree.

Just my 2 cents worth.

BOOMER

SOONER! Never leave a Boomer! hanging!

I think this is a good simplification. Someone earlier drew a comparison to AD and I don't think it's merited. No slight on Kelly, but he hasn't demonstrated that he's a sure fire impact player like everyone knew that AD was. Different ball-game for Malcolm.

I do believe, however, that if he comes back, he could distinguish himself to be that sort of player: a guy that commands attention as not just a top 10 pick, but even top 5. He can put himself into the Calvin Johnson, Randy Moss, Larry Fitzgerald etc. class, or close to it, IMHO. But here's not there if he leaves now.

I think some of it could also depend on the WV game itself. Vince Young would have stayed if it weren't for the Rose bowl performance he put on against USC. If Kelly catches 10+ for 200+, he'll probably have to cash in those chips, because that sort of thing would probably solidify him as a solid middle-to-upper-half first round pick. And you gotta jet if you're there as a WR.

Regardless, the truth is that we have the talent to back-fill Kelly if he leaves. After another off-season with Schmidty, Tennell is going to be a beast. And between Jameel Owens and Julio Jones, surely one of them, if not both, will come our way . . . especially if Kelly declares for the draft.

It's all good, fellas. It would be a bigger blow to the team to lose any of the other three juniors, IMO - even though Kelly is the most draft-ready prospect, to be sure. I'd probably rank the impact of departure as follows, from "hurts the worst" and going down.

1. Lofton - leadership at MLB is huge, and the talent behind them is unproven to date.

2. Smith - loss of Walker, Williams, and Wolfe means our secondary will be vulnerable. We need Smith's senior leadership.

3. Robinson - Second best NFL prospect on the team, but we have depth and experience on the line for next year, due to Wilson's excellent job of rotating young players. Simmons could step forward. Between Loadholt, Williams, and Braxton, we have another extra body waiting to find more playing time.

4. Kelly - Even if Tennell weren't to break out next year, we have so many other offensive weapons, and so much experience, that we can absorb his departure with the least impact (again, just MHO).

[KingDavid]

If it goes up on vBookie MK staying versus MK going, I'm betting every cent I have that he goes.

I'll be your huckleberry on the other side of that bet. But you gotta give me some odds . . . :D

[Crucifax Autumn]

My opinion is that as a wide receiver he faces very little risk of serious injury...It could happen, but it's less likely than running backs, QBs, linemen, etc.

Receivers do end up with occational concussions or ankle injuries, but serious knee injuries and other career ending damage is relatively rare. The possibility of being top receiver in the Big 12 on a national championship team gives him the chance of being double the money he is this year.

That said, I'd probably go for the sure money too, but I can hope.

[Curly Bill]

I'll be your huckleberry on the other side of that bet. But you gotta give me some odds . . . :D

Odds? No way! If you're sure of yourself on this it's a straight-up bet. :D

[Crucifax Autumn]

Anyone wanna expalin to me exactly how these vcash bets work? I've been here a couple of years and never bothered to investigate.

[KingDavid]

Anyone wanna expalin to me exactly how these vcash bets work? I've been here a couple of years and never bothered to investigate.

No clue, here. And I'm a bit sheepish about bearing my noobness so openly.:O

[Crucifax Autumn]

lol...me too obviously!