Kyu Blu Kelly reflects on Stanford career ahead of NFL Draft

Stanford defensive back Kyu Blue Kelly loved his time at school and felt it was the best type of preparation for the 2023 NFL Draft.

There was even a moment that stuck out amongst all of his games. Kelly played against USC a couple of times and used it as motivation throughout his career.

He was not offered by the Trojans coming out of high school.

“Something that I’ll always keep with me, just because of the whole backstory with USC, junior year SC game, they did not offer me,” Kelly said on Sirius XM College Sports Radio. “So anytime I got a chance to go against the Trojans, it was definitely to make them pay. I played in the Coliseum my freshman year but that was my first like, you know, big game, big start and getting that pick six, I just remember I was able to see my whole family in the stands and my dad’s going crazy. But that was one of my brightest memories on the football field. 

“But there’s so many times where I just made so many great connections with people at Stanford. I mean that place is just, you’ll meet the most interesting people you’ll ever meet in the world. Intellectuals and it’s just a place where excellence is so high and esteemed over there to where it just changed me from coming in from high school into the man I am now. It just completely transformed me.”

Kelly finished his Stanford career with 147 total tackles, 111 solo tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and one defensive touchdown.

As a member of the Class of 2019, Kelly was a three-star recruit out of Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 4 overall prospect in the state, the No. 65 cornerback prospect in the class and the No. 741 overall prospect in the class.

More on the 2023 NFL Draft

The 2023 NFL Draft is set to take place from Thursday, April 27 through Saturday, April 29 in Kansas City, Missouri. The event is located at the plaza just outside of Union Station.

Round 1 of the NFL Draft will begin 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Apr. 27. Rounds 2-3 will begin at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Apr. 28, and Rounds 4-7 will begin at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, Apr. 29. The draft is broadcasted throughout the weekend on both ESPN and NFL Network.

To be eligible for the NFL Draft, players must be at least three years removed from their final year of high school while having used up their collegiate eligibility. Underclassmen are able to request league approval to become eligible for the draft, as are players who have graduated prior to using up all of their collegiate eligibility. 100 underclassman were approved for last year’s draft. 73 of those 100 underclassmen were granted special eligibility while 27 of them were underclassmen who had completed their college degrees.

The 2023 NFL scouting combine will take place from Feb. 28 through March 6 in Indianapolis.