University Southern California Trojans
Brian Kelly is 45th Player Taken in NFL Draft
June 21, 1999 | Football
April 20, 1998
Out Cardinal & Gold. In Pewter & Red.
That's the situation for USC cornerback Brian Kelly, who was selected in the second round of the NFL draft (45th overall) by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday (April 18).
The Trojans' four-year starting defensive back was originally projected as a late first-round selection, but slipped a bit on the NFL's D-Day. For Kelly, however, the draft still couldn't have turned out much better.
Both of Kelly's parents were born in Tampa and he still has many relatives there. He is more than just a little happy with his fate.
"The way the draft went down, with teams moving all across the board, I didn't think it would happen," Kelly said. "I was so excited to see my name come up as a Buccaneer. Most guys don't get the opportunity to play for the team who they want. This is a young team with a defensive-minded coach. I'm just so excited right now."
Said Tampa Bay Head Coach Tony Dungy: "We feel like he can come in and really help us. We watched him play and he covered some really good guys in the West. He's been well-tutored by (USC secondary coach) Dennis Thurman. We were happy one of the cornerbacks we liked would be there."
The Buccaneers wheeled and dealed to turn their late first-round pick (No. 23) into a pair of steals in the second round. They traded their first-rounder to Oakland for two second-round picks, the first of which they used to get Floridais Jacquez Green.
Looking for a cornerback next, they considered Kelly and Southern Mississippiis Patrick Surtain. When Surtain went at No. 44, it prompted the Buccaneers to make another deal to make sure they got Kelly. They traded their original second-round pick (No. 53) and a fourth-round selection (No. 114) to Atlanta for the 45th pick to get Kelly.
"When (Miami Coach) Jimmy Johnson took Patrick Surtain, we were in trouble," Tampa Bay General Manager Rich McKay said. "We were down to one and there were about five picks between us and that pick and in the middle of us was the Vikings, who also wanted a corner.
"It was a position we wanted to add to and to get someone the quality of Brian Kelly and get him where we got him is very nice."
Said Kelly about the pick: "I saw Atlanta had the next pick and I got up for a second. I then found out that Tampa had traded for the pick and I had my fingers crossed that it would be me. This is the situation that I wanted to go in. I looked at the draft board at teams that looked like they needed corners and Tampa was one of them - a winning team with a winning coach."
Kelly is expected to immediately contend with Buccaneer veteran Anthony Parker and second-year players Ronde Barber and Floyd Young for a starting job. At worst, Kelly should be a candidate for the nickel-back job.
Some "draft experts" speculated that Kelly may have slipped because he didn't clock a 4.4 in the 40, two tenths of a second making the difference between the first and second rounds. But Kelly isn't concerned.
"I'm not a track guy. That's not what I do," he said. "I play hard every play and Iill put my numbers out in between the lines."
Kelly was the only Trojan taken in the draft. It was the lowest amount of USC players drafted since no Trojans were taken in the 1938 draft.
