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Aug 10, 2023

UW

UW-La Crosse senior defensive end Jack Kelly pairs up with an offensive lineman during a practice drill on Aug. 9. The secret is out on UW-La Crosse senior defensive end Jack Kelly. After earning

UW-La Crosse senior defensive end Jack Kelly pairs up with an offensive lineman during a practice drill on Aug. 9.

The secret is out on UW-La Crosse senior defensive end Jack Kelly.

After earning honorable mention to the All-WIAC team in 2021, Kelly burst onto the radar of opposing teams with a conference-leading 10½ sacks and 15 tackles for a loss. Only one other Eagles player — Jim Byrne in 1982 — has recorded more sacks in a season with 11.

Kelly registered four tackles for a loss and three sacks against UW-River Falls on Nov. 5 before topping that with 3½ sacks and a forced fumble against UW-Platteville the next week.

Kelly made the All-WIAC first team last season and was named to the D3football.com Preseason All-American third team. Naturally, he was selected as a captain for this year’s Eagles squad.

“The leadership was really big for him, especially being a junior,” defensive line coach Mitchell Collicott said. “Jack, he did a really good job of carrying himself in practice. That’s one of the things that a lot of the young guys picked up on.”

With success comes a conundrum for Kelly and the defense to figure out. Kelly — wearing jersey No. 1 — becomes priority No. 1 for offenses, meaning he’s going to see a little bit of everything over the course of the season.

“Coach Collicott does a great job and he talks me through a lot of that stuff,” Kelly said. “Obviously guys are going to chip block, double team, slide. They’ll use the running back in the passing game to block as well.”

Only three players in the last 30 years have led the WIAC in sacks in consecutive seasons. Three is also the number of players in WIAC history who have had 10 sacks or more in two straight seasons. Producing at Kelly’s level for two straight seasons is rare and it’s a challenge he and his coaches welcome.

“I think he almost wears it as a badge of honor,” Collicott said. “Offenses are going to have to. If they don’t, he’s going to continue to be as productive as he is.”

Collicott’s confidence in Kelly comes in part due to what made him so successful last season. Attention to detail and technique has been a trademark of Kelly throughout his career and it hasn’t slowed down with more on his plate this coming year.

“Every day he’s always working on something,” Collicott said. “He’s never complacent. The guy is constantly working on little things that he needs to improve on. I give him time and we talk about things he can improve on every day. He just gets 1 percent better every day.”

Previously a two-sport athlete at UW-L, Kelly decided to drop baseball and focus on getting himself an edge come football season. Kelly added five pounds of muscle to help him make up a size deficit to opposing linemen, and he’s already noticed a difference in fall camp.

“I think for me it was getting my weight up,” Kelly said. “I usually play baseball and I didn’t this past year. I went from about 220 to 225. I think that’s going to be the biggest difference in my game and the variety of moves I can do now with a bigger body. I think having that speed too is going to be huge.”

Ultimately, Kelly’s impact on the team might not be noticeable on his own stat line. Double teams on the edge might open up things inside for junior defensive tackles Marik Dickson and Nate Hietpas.

Dickson had 1½ sacks last season and Hietpas had 2½ tackles for a loss.

“The way we address it with other guys is if they slide to attack Jack, we have three other guys on the defensive line that are going to have to make a play,” Collicott said. “It goes back and forth. If they’re going to pick on one guy, we’re going to have three guys that can go make a play.”

Collicott

James Krause can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @jkrausepro.

No. 12 UW-La Crosse Eagles vs. Dakota State Trojans

WHEN: Thursday, 7 p.m.

WHERE: The Dan Beacom Track Complex, Madison, SD

RADIO/STREAM: WKTY

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