Trenton Kelley had offers to walk on to the football team at Purdue and Indiana University, but in the end, he found the right fit in Morehead State.
The Columbus North senior quarterback committed to the Eagles last week after taking a visit to the Morehead, Kentucky, school the previous weekend.
"I definitely thought about (Purdue or IU), but talking it over with my parents, I think I have a real good chance to play more at Morehead State," Kelley said.
Kelley, who also had a scholarship offer from Eastern Illinois, a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) program. Morehead is a former I-AA school that recently became an FCS non-scholarship program.
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However, Kelley is receiving an academic scholarship from Morehead. He plans to major in business.
The 6-foot-5, 205-pound Kelley threw for 1,772 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior in leading the Bull Dogs to a Conference Indiana championship and earning All-Conference Indiana, Class 6A honorable mention All-State and The Republic Football Player of the Year honors.
As a junior, Kelley threw for 2,223 yards and a school record-tying 25 touchdowns. He had a painful ending to the season, suffering a ruptured spleen on the opening drive of North’s sectional final loss at Center Grove, and had the spleen removed a few days later.
Kelley’s 358 yards passing in this year’s win at Bloomington South is the second-best single game total in school history. He ranks third all-time with 4,017 career passing yards.
Meanwhile, Kelley also is a starter on the North boys basketball team that is 14-4 and is riding an eight-game winning streak. He led the Bull Dogs with a career-high 19 points in Saturday’s 58-43 win at East Central.
Last fall, Kelley went to Morehead’s football game against Marist and liked what he saw.
"I had a great time there," Kelley said. "I love the coaches and the atmosphere and what they’re building. I just thought it was the right fit for me."
