Nyjalik Kelly

Early life

Kelly was born on October 29, 2004, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He attended Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale where he played football as a defensive end. As a sophomore, he won the district championship and was named honorable mention All-Broward. He helped Dillard go undefeated in 2020 while recording 13 sacks and 21 tackles for loss (TFLs), then was named the Broward 8A-6A Football Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2021 when he recorded 58 tackles, 12 sacks and 20 TFLs. Kelly participated at the All-American Bowl at the end of his high school career. He was ranked a four-star recruit and one of the top 100 prospects nationally in the class of 2022. He initially committed to play college football for the Florida State Seminoles before de-committing. He later signed to play for the Miami Hurricanes.

College career

As a true freshman at Miami in 2022, Kelly appeared in all 12 games and posted 11 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, four sacks and 15 pressures. He was limited by injuries in 2023 and recorded only eight tackles while starting three games. After the 2023 season, Kelly entered the NCAA transfer portal and transferred to the UCF Knights. In his first year with the Knights, he totaled 53 tackles, 5.5 sacks and three forced fumbles while earning honorable mention All-Big 12 Conference honors. In 2025, he posted 46 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, two forced fumbles and an interception while earning honorable mention All-Big 12 honors for a second time. Kelly declared for the 2026 NFL draft and was invited to the 2026 Senior Bowl.