From cardinal and gold to crimson and cream: Nation’s top high school linebacker chooses OU

Clovis West outside linebacker and national Butkus Award winner Caleb Kelly has made it official: He’ll play for the University of Oklahoma Sooners in the fall.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior chose Oklahoma over Michigan, Oregon and Notre Dame. In all, he had been offered football scholarships to 31 schools.

Kelly headed back to his old stomping grounds, Lincoln Elementary School, to make his final decision on National Signing Day, Feb. 3.

Clovis West head coach George Petrissans remarked that the very first school to offer Kelly a scholarship ended up being the school that he chose to play for.

“Caleb is a really special guy,” Petrissans said. “For myself, it’s been a pleasure coaching him the last two years. Why is he so special is the fact that he’s a team guy, he cares about the team, he cares about his teammates and he shows it through his work ethic. It’s a testament to his family and how they’ve raised Caleb and (Jeremiah).”

Shortly after Signing Day, it was announced Kelly had landed another one of the nation’s most prestigious high school football honors. He made Parade Magazine’s All-America team, which appeared in the Feb. 7 edition of The Fresno Bee, coinciding with Super Bowl Sunday. Kelly was one of 25 players nationwide to make the Parade first team.

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 11:19 AM with the headline "From cardinal and gold to crimson and cream: Nation’s top high school linebacker chooses OU."