Instead, the morning's focus veered toward Kelly's budding acrimony with the Sooner coaching staff.
"Certain people have tried to hold me down, and they know who they are,” Kelly said after the workout. "I wouldn't say the whole OU coaching staff, but certain people, I would say that.”
Kelly was upset after running a pedestrian 4.68 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He placed blame on the OU strength staff and accused them of failing to notify him ahead of time that the testing was going to be on the Everest Indoor Training Center's field turf instead of the Mosier Center's AstroTurf, a surface on which Kelly had been training the last month.
OU strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt said the location was decided on Wednesday morning by scouts, who felt the field turf at the Everest Center would be more comparable to the surface run on at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Kelly also accused OU of "misdiagnosing” a December thigh injury, which kept him from participating in the Fiesta Bowl and from training for the NFL Draft until last month.
Kelly said he was told by OU doctors that he had a deep thigh bruise, though a February MRI revealed he had suffered a partial quadriceps tear.
Kelly charged that he could've played in the Fiesta Bowl had he been diagnosed correctly in the beginning and that the OU staff risked his pro career by encouraging him to play through the pain without properly treating the injury.
"They told me it was a thigh bruise and to try and play through it. A deep thigh bruise hurts, you're in lot of pain, but it doesn't feel like someone is pulling at it or stabbing you in the leg,” Kelly said. "I tried to tell everybody it was worse than a thigh bruise. They told me it wasn't that bad, to go out there and run, that it was all in my mind. If I had gone out there in the bowl game and run full speed, where would I be? Nowhere. I'd be sitting at home right now rehabbing. Then people say, trust in what they say, they're not going to steer you wrong.
"If I had sat out from the time I messed it up, I would've been ready a week before the bowl game and could've played. It frustrates me a whole lot, the fact that I could've played and the fact that I knew it was something else and I was being told differently. I sat out the game. People were mad. But I wasn't going to injure myself or go out there and run half-speed and mess up the team.”
Sooner coach Bob Stoops said Kelly never practiced after suffering the thigh injury and took issue with Kelly's accusations that OU's doctors erred.
"I don't think that is fair,” Stoops said. "A lot of deep tissue injuries take a while to figure out. Our doctors do as good a job as anybody in the country. Regardless of what his injury was, misdiagnosed or not, it was a deep tissue injury. He never played. It isn't like he played a game and re-hurt it. He would not have done anything different than he's done, which is rest it for a long period of time, which he did, and rehab it.”
Stoops said Kelly's assertion that he would've been able to play had the tear been found earlier is off-base.
"He didn't do anything the whole time before we went to the Fiesta Bowl. He didn't practice once,” Stoops said. "He didn't practice at the Fiesta Bowl, even though we tried to warm him up. It's not realistic for that injury to heal that fast.”
Wednesday, OU spokesman Kenny Mossman conferred with members of the Sooner training staff, who said that Kelly was initially diagnosed with a bruise, but that the injury was later upgraded to a strain within 48 hours.
According to Mossman, OU's treatment of a partial quadriceps tear and a quadriceps strain is virtually the same: inactivity.
Kelly, who declared early for the NFL Draft days after the Fiesta Bowl, caught 49 passes for 821 yards and nine touchdowns last season, a drop-off from his sophomore total in 2006 when he reeled in 62 catches for 993 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Kelly's relationship with the Sooner coaches appeared to take a wrong turn midway through last season when he failed to register a catch in a 27-24 loss at Colorado.
"The opportunity was there,” Kelly said then after the game. "I guess that's just the way the dice rolled.”
Wednesday, he finally erupted.
"I had everything set up for where I wanted to (run) at,” said Kelly, who had a heated argument with Schmidt after the workout, at one point even throwing his cleats into the turf. "I get up here this morning and it's a whole different deal. I was slipping all over the place during my drill work. I can't say I'm pleased with anything today.”
Kelly's trainer, Chip Smith, said he was disappointed Kelly wasn't informed ahead of time that testing was going to be conducted on the field turf.
"Malcolm had been mentally prepared to run on the (AstroTurf), which a lot of universities do, so to change that when you walk in not knowing, I think there should've at least been a courtesy call to him to tell him they were going to change it,” said Smith, who has helped prepare more than 800 players for the draft over the years. "On a fast surface, he's probably a 4.4. We didn't even have the right shoes for him to run in. We had to make adjustments.”
Kelly — who wasn't cleared until March 20 for full training because of the quadriceps tear — said he had been preparing for the three weeks in Atlanta to test on AstroTurf, on which he said he had been running the 40 in under 4.50 seconds.
Schmidt said he had both the Mosier and Everest centers ready for testing, but that the scouts requested in the morning the workout be held on the field turf.
OU held its first pro day last month on the same field turf in the Everest Center.
"Malcolm can run anywhere he wants, but the NFL people wanted it on the closest to a surface that they play on,” Schmidt said. "That's like a track surface in (the Mosier Center) and they're going to adjust the times, which is not fair to the kid.”
According to Mossman, Gil Brandt of NFL.com phoned OU athletic director Joe Castiglione on Wednesday afternoon and said that he and the other scouts would've added time to Kelly's 40 had he run on AstroTurf to account for the faster surface.
Wednesday was an important day for Kelly, who had more than 35 NFL scouts and coaches in town to watch him, including Buffalo Bills Vice President of College Scouting Tom Modrak, Bills offensive coordinator Turk Schonert and Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski.
Kelly measured in at 6-feet, 3 7/10 -inches and 227 pounds. He reached 32 inches in the vertical jump and 9-feet, 11-inches in the broad jump.
He posted times of 4.17 in the short shuttle, 11.85 in the long shuttle and 7.11 in the three-cone drill.
Kelly looked especially sharp during receiving drills while catching passes from former Nebraska quarterback and 2001 Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch.
"I did real good in that area,” Kelly said. "I knew I was going to do good in that, that's natural.”
It remains to be seen if Kelly's 4.68 40-time will lower his stock in the April 26-27 draft, but it didn't help him with other potential first round receivers running faster times.
Limas Sweed recently posted a 4.50 in the 40 at Texas' pro day, held on field turf.
Michigan State's Devin Thomas ran a 4.38 at the NFL Combine.
After visiting with the Bills coaches, who have the No. 11 overall pick in the draft, Kelly ruled out running the 40 again.
"They told me they saw all they needed to see, that they saw the game film,” Kelly said, "and that I never got caught from behind.”
Kelly flew to Cincinnati immediately after the workout Wednesday along with Bratkowski to meet with Bengals officials.
He already visited Buffalo, and over the next week he's scheduled to meet with personnel from the Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys.
Kelly's criticism of OU overshadowed former Sooner defensive back Reggie Smith, who also tested in front of scouts for the first time.
Smith, who had been recovering from a broken big toe he suffered in the Big 12 Championship, leaped 39.5 inches in the vertical jump and ran a 4.65 in the 40.
"I could've done a lot better,” Smith said. "The surface was a little slower than I thought it was.
"I've seen a lot better times from myself and Kelly.”
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If you put a truth serum in the OU coaching staff they'd probably say they are glad he's gone. Even the most talented players with a bad attitude are not good for a team.
He did more to hurt himself in the draft with his recent actions than the 40 time he ran. He'll get what he deserves...great player selfish person in a team sport will cost you $$$ and options
This is the first time I have heard of problems between Kelly and the coaching staff. It would have been nice to have him next year, but if he was going to be a disruptive force, Jacob is correct OU does not need him.
Tom makes a very interesting point and might help explain how Oklahoma was embarrassed by WVU. I was born in Oklahoma but grew up in West Virginia, and believe me, the players on that WVU team (excluding White, Slaton and maybe one or two others) are not considered great talents. I'm still in shock (and embarrassed) that the Sooners did not defeat WVU.
Why is it that all year long during the season everybody always thinks these guys are so fast - but then when they test - they arent as fast as they were made out to be? Has anybody else noticed this? No wonder our secondary was getting killed. Our best corner runs a 4.65 and our safety runs a 4.65 and our linebackers run from 4.77 to 5.0? I said this from the very beginning - five star athletes like Kelly are prima donnas - and win it comes winning time I will take Rocky Calmus, Roy Williams, and Antoine Savage over Kelly. Kelly has great hands - but I watch a lot of football and never thought he was 4.5 fast.
Malcolm seems to think it is all about him. If the scouts want him to run on a certain turf, he better be ready to run on that certain turf. Sounds like a whiner to me. OU didn't need him next season anyway.
Something tells me that this situation is making Mr. Kelly's jump to the pros a bridge being burnt for good with OU and its coaching staff.Best of luck to you Malcolm Kelly.
Malcolm has been a great receiver for the Sooners..and he will be a great receiver in the NFL, too. Good luck to you, Malcolm. I'm positive Coach Stoops and his coaches are all pulling for you..don't let this misunderstanding hurt your chances.
Malcolm Kelley has thrilled us with his unbelieveable catches. Normally, if the ball is near him, he makes the play. The only exception I can remember is the pass at Colorado. I wish Malcolm the best. I can see Malcom's frustration; I believe it is misplaced. He will have a spectacular career in the NFL. Remember those who thought Peterson would not make it in the NFL -- he only went out and won rookie of the year. Good luck, Malcolm. I look forward to seeing you on Sundays. I will miss your spectacular play at OU. You could always be counted on the make a play during clutch time. Please mend your fences at OU before you leave. You have a right to be disappointed, but bitterness in the end will only hurt you.
It's funny to me how all the OSU fans think that the Sooner fans are turning on their own because of them leaving early as opposed to the embarassing behavior some illustrate after the fact.
I for one am glad he is gone. Too slow for pro? He will still have an opportunity to earn more than most people ever dream of. If he doesn't make it at least he will have a degree to fall back on. Oops sometimes things don't go so well after a bad decision. He is just like most athletes today. Above the law and it is never their fault. It is always someone elses fault.
So, it now appears that Kelly sat out of the Fiesta Bowl to protect his draft status. MK, you should have gone to UT with all the other prima donnas who don't cut it in the NFL.
I'm tolerant of a lot of things, but whining is not on the list. He needs to apologize to the coaches who have poured their efforts into developing him over the last several years, and to the university that offered him an education. He ought to be kissing Jerry Schmidt's feet for teaching him to endure pain.
Kelly is the kind of guy where the team could lose the game but as long as he got his 100 yards receiving he's happy. Remember the 2006 OU/Texas AM game when all we did was run the entire game? We won the game but he griped about not getting the ball thrown his way. We need someone who is all about winning irregardless of whether or not they got the ball thrown their way. The signs were always there and now he's just showing his true colors. I hope the receivers we recruited for next year have a team first attitude. The kind of attitude he displayed is a cancer to a team.
i pity the NFL team that recruits him; he'll be nothing but trouble and blame any problems on other's. Couldn't he have looked into locations and the other complaints he had (himself)! Poor baby. He needs to grow up and take responsibility.
I don't think he will be on the christmas list anytime soon. Medical staff doesn't always get it right. Thats life, he made himself look like a ass complaining! I am sure there are things that we may not know about, but going public with it is tacky. His sour grapes attitude hurt his stock not his 40 time. OU does not owe him a thing but a education for playing football! He gave out a bad vibe which usually shows poor character.
Well here is something Malcolm needs to think about: maturity is a factor in signing a pro contract. The NFL probably does not want or need another T.O. Especially one who is unproven at the pro level.
Was really hoping that Coach Stoops would speak out. Why does OU even furnish Kelly a place to show his talents anyway after dumping the school and taxpayers for the NFL. Far as I am concerned he can do his trial runs down I35 headed south to Texas and good riddance! Maybe Jerry Jones and TO can pick him up after he crosses the Red River, that is if he even knows without a Garmin which way South is!
All OU fans need to cool their jets, Malcolm needs an opportunity to cool down, and allow some insightful thinking to occur. Malcolm is frustrated given the stakes in play and OU coaching staff likely feels they got set up by the pro scouts.
My gut tells me the teams looking at Malcolm and have true interest will draft him regardless of his 40 time because they have made the primary portion of their decision on game film which depicts 'football speed', i.e., did anyone catch him from behind? The answer is 'no', and ultimately that is how NFL scouts judge speed. I hope Malcolm can find it in himself to retreat, apologize, go out and prove everyone he is fast enough. I hope Bob Stoops and the OU staff don't continue to take the bait and continue responding. Let's all grow up.
Joe Jon Finley also worked out for the NFL scouts on Wednesday. by STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN
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Kelly not pleased with OU after pro day 04/09/2008 NORMAN — Former Oklahoma wide receiver Malcolm Kelly didn't have the pro day performance Wednesday that he wanted. And he's putting some...
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Tom makes a very interesting point and might help explain how Oklahoma was embarrassed by WVU. I was born in Oklahoma but grew up in West Virginia, and believe me, the players on that WVU team (excluding White, Slaton and maybe one or two others) are not considered great talents. I'm still in shock (and embarrassed) that the Sooners did not defeat WVU.
My gut tells me the teams looking at Malcolm and have true interest will draft him regardless of his 40 time because they have made the primary portion of their decision on game film which depicts 'football speed', i.e., did anyone catch him from behind? The answer is 'no', and ultimately that is how NFL scouts judge speed. I hope Malcolm can find it in himself to retreat, apologize, go out and prove everyone he is fast enough. I hope Bob Stoops and the OU staff don't continue to take the bait and continue responding. Let's all grow up.