Mobile Christian’s Kentonio Kelly Jr. (7) showed his versatility in the Class 3A state championship game last December, making 14 tackles and catching a 55-yard touchdown pass. (Call News file photo)
By JIMMY WIGFIELD
Kentonio Kelly Jr., the state’s leading tackler last year and the Class 3A Lineman of the Year, has withdrawn from Mobile Christian, according to Leopards coach Charles Lawson.
Lawson said he was stunned when Kelly informed him about his decision on Tuesday.
“I’m still kind of in shock,” Lawson said. “It came out of left field. We had just had a great day. We had a 7-on-7 at UMS the day before. I told them we would practice the next day and they thought we’d have a hard practice but I surprised them with a relaxed, team-building day. He hung around with me about 90 minutes after that. About an hour after we left school, I was informed his parents had withdrawn him.”
Kelly could not be reached for comment Wednesday and his transfer destination is unclear.
“Everything was good,” said Lawson, who had served as Mobile Christian’s defensive coordinator before being promoted when Ronnie Cottrell resigned in January. “When I got hired, (Kelly) was happy it was somebody he knew. He had a great spring.”
Kelly, a 6-foot, 212-pound All-State senior linebacker, led the state in tackles last season regardless of class and was the second consecutive Leopards defensive star to be named the Class 3A Lineman of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Sterling Dixon, who is now at Alabama, won it for the 2022 season.
Dixon also transferred to Spanish Fort last summer.
“It’s happening all over now,” Lawson said. “That’s two years in a row. I wish him the best. I told him I’d always be there for him. Change is part of life.”
Kelly made 210 tackles, including 18 for losses, and made five interceptions during Mobile Christian’s 15-0 state championship season in 2023. In the Super 7, he made 14 tackles and caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Damien Gatson to clinch a 55-28 win over Madison Academy. He has 372 tackles in the last two seasons.
“I put in the work,” Kelly said after being named the Class 3A Lineman of the Year. “I play every play like it’s my last play. My teammates depend on me and I’ve got to lead and get the job done.”
Lawson said the team went about a normal day Wednesday in the aftermath of Kelly’s departure.
“I sat them down and told them about it,” Lawson said. “We didn’t skip a beat.”
Kelly has been offered by Alabama State, Tuskegee, North Alabama, Wofford, Army, Air Force, Arkansas State, Penn, Toledo, Southeast Missouri State and Marshall but Lawson has said Kelly is an SEC-caliber player.
