BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Kelly name is synonymous with football excellence in Western New York.
"In my family, you're going to play some sports, and football is a big one," said Dylan Kelly, Williamsville North alum.
After watching his uncle Jim put together a Hall of Fame career as quarterback Bills, Dylan is now carving out his own football journey.
A wide receiver and linebacker at Williamsville North, Kelly joined the University of Albany in 2019 as a linebacker, but without the assurances of a scholarship.
"I came on as a walk-on," Kelly said. "So you kind of come-on as a chip on your shoulder, like nobody really believes in me."
He started out on special teams, but stayed ready for when the opportunity arrived to make a bigger impact.
"We had two players in front of me that entered the transfer portal, and so I was a third string," Kelly said. "I saw the opportunity. I took it and I was a starter and here I am now."
Now the Albany Great Dane, is one of the great defensive players in all of FCS college football.
Kelly posted 145 tackles this past regular season, second most in all of FCS. He added eight tackles for loss, three sacks, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble to his stat sheet, and he led Albany to the national semifinals for the first time in school history.
As a result, Kelly is one of three finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the national defensive player of the year in FCS.
"It caught me off guard. … It means a lot, I've said it multiple times in Albany, I couldn't do it without any of my teammates and my coaches," Kelly said. "It means a lot that all of my hard work is being shown and recognized."
It didn't hurt to have some helpful pointers from his uncle Jim along the way.
"He always taught me football IQ, just like what I should look for when studying the offense and the quarterback," Kelly said.
Now Dylan, after five years in school, hopes to join Jim and his cousin Chad (played collegiately Ole Miss, drafted by the Denver Broncos, currently in CFL), in reaching the dream of playing in the National Football League.
"I am declaring for the draft," Dylan said. "Hopefully get some bowl invites and just train this upcoming semester, and then do a pro day, then hope for the best."
He hopes his hard work gets him to the NFL, and that hard work is what people remember about his story.
"It's just all hard work and dedication. Even when people aren't looking, you've got to keep working and just, when that time comes, just run with it and don't look back," he said.
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