Anthony in The Seattle Times: Kelley says he’s found new focus for 2002
Kelley says he’s found new focus for 2002
Seattle Times staff reporter
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20011216&slug=uwfb16
What Washington football fans have sensed, Anthony Kelley knew months ago.
“I didn’t play to the best of my ability,” Kelley said, reviewing the 2001 season. “I really don’t want to end my career here at the University of Washington on the note I played this year.”
If Kelley’s self-assessment is correct, he’s a case study for the athletics-academics dichotomy that has long been so controversial in big-time college athletics.
He entered Washington in 1998 as a so-called Proposition 48 student, prevented from playing football his first year in school and limited to three years of eligibility.
With a caveat: A change several years ago allowed Prop 48s to regain that lost year of eligibility if they graduate in four years. If it seems well-intended and justified, it still puts pressure on such collegians because most athletes in major sports take five years or longer to graduate.
Nevertheless, Kelley is on that four-year track, intending to return in 2002 to make up for what Huskies fans have missed this year. He says he is ahead of schedule to graduate next June.
“I really didn’t think I played to my full potential,” Kelley said. “A lot of my efforts were going to my education.”
Kelley lost his starting outside linebacker job to Sam Blanche this year. He recorded a single sack, after totaling five his first two years. His tackles (19) were down from his numbers in both 1999 and 2000.
“I was more worried about whether I had time to get my homework done,” Kelley said. “It was a lot of setting up tutorial sessions, reading and getting frustrated, because football did take up a substantial amount of my time.
“I see myself on film, and it didn’t even look like me. The fire and eagerness I had to the ball last year really wasn’t with me this year. I was consumed so much with academics.”
If his football has slipped, however, Kelley’s academic side has flowered. He studied in South Africa last winter quarter, giving him an appreciation for his roots and a possible direction after Washington.
“Maybe it’s a minus for him on the football field,” UW defensive coordinator Tim Hundley said, “but it’s certainly a plus for him in his life.”
Kelley refers to his time in South Africa as “a big deal for me, especially being an African-American here in the States. To go back to your heritage … it was kind of almost like going back about 40 years ago here, to the days of segregation and oppression.
“I kind of found direction. I didn’t know what I wanted to do if I didn’t do football.”
Kelley wants to be involved in some type of social work, particularly with kids. He also mentions the possibility of pro football. Next year, when the coaches talk about focus, he’ll know that they mean.
Sublime to ridiculous
A year ago, Justin Robbins had an unexpectedly strong freshman season for Washington, leading the Huskies in touchdown catches with four.
His 2001 season has been a mess. First there was a hamstring pull, a recurrence that prompted a redshirt year, then a broken hand.
Friday, in a non-contact drill in the indoor practice facility, he suffered a torn ligament in a knee.
“It’s a devastating injury for a kid who’s been hard-luck,” UW Coach Rick Neuheisel said. “As I said to Justin, do not judge the race before you get to the finish line.”
It will be the second straight year Robbins hasn’t had a full winter conditioning program.
