Less than a week after Darius Robinson was picked in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals, Mizzou may have landed as close to a one-for-one replacement as it could find this spring. Georgia Tech defensive lineman Eddie Kelly just announced he's transferring to Mizzou. Kelly has two years of eligibility remaining.
"I felt like Missouri has my best interest in developing me trying to get where I’m trying to go which is the NFL," Kelly told PowerMizzou.com moments after he committed. "Coach (Brian) Early is a great coach. That’s what told me."
Like Robinson, Kelly has the size to play inside or outside at 6-foot-4, 274 pounds.
"I talked to Darius when I got down there and he’s a great individual," Kelly said. "They want me to come in there and play my game and be physical and compete."
Kelly said he feels like he is better playing on the edge and rushing the passer, but added he would play wherever he was needed.
He started his career at South Florida where he made 19 tackles, 1.5 tackle for loss and recovered a fumble in 11 games as a true freshman. Kelly broke out in his second season at Georgia Tech. He had 38 tackles, 5 TFL and 1.5 sacks for the Yellow Jackets last season.
Kelly visited Michigan State and heard from Lousville, Cincinnati, Memphis, Indiana, Pittsburgh and others after entering the portal. But he's set to be a Missouri Tiger.
Johnny Walker is Mizzou's only returning player with significant playing time as a Tiger. Joe Moore is also back at defensive end. Mizzou added Darris Smith and Zion Young in the transfer portal in January and also has highly-touted freshmen Williams Nwaneri, Jaylen Brown and Elias Williams coming in this year.
Stay up to date on all the Mizzou news with your premium subscription
Talk about this story and more in The Tigers' Lair
Make sure you're caught up on all the Tiger news and headlines
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video and live streaming coverage
