Joshua Kelley

Joshua Tyler Kelley (born November 20, 1997) His mother Jacqueline, a speech pathologist at an elementary school, Growing up in Lancaster in Los Angeles County, Kelley was a fan of UCLA. His mother volunteered at the University of California, Los Angeles, and he had an aunt and uncle who studied there; his uncle played on the Bruins baseball team.

Kelley attended Eastside High School and rushed for 1,903 yards and 22 touchdowns in his final two seasons with the Lions. With the Aggies, he coped with injuries and shared time with another fine back in Manusomo Luuga. In his first season, Kelley was a year younger than his fellow freshmen. As part of his release from the school, Kelley was permitted to transfer to just two schools in California: UCLA and USC. He also received interest from Boise State. Leading up to the 2018 season, he encountered another coaching change when UCLA replaced Jim L. Mora with Chip Kelly. The new coach awarded a scholarship to Kelley. Kelley did not play much until Week 4 at Colorado. Following an open week in UCLA's schedule, he regrouped and ran for 124 yards in 12 carries against Colorado after being the team's best player in training sessions leading up to the game. Kelley became one of the nation's top running backs over the final two months of the season. He emerged as the Bruins' top offensive player with six 100-yard games, On the road in Week 6 against California, UCLA earned their first win of the season as Kelley ran for 157 yards and three touchdowns in a 37–7 victory. Against USC, Kelley had a career-high 289 yards rushing on 40 carries to help the Bruins earn their first win in four years in their crosstown rivalry with the Trojans. It was the most rushing yards for a player on either team in the history of the rivalry. He scored two touchdowns, including one on a career-long 61-yard run. He ran for at least one touchdown in each of the final eight games, while the Associated Press named him to their first team. He was named the Bruins' most valuable player. He injured his right knee in practice, and subsequently missed most of training camp. He did not play in the season opener against Cincinnati. On October 26 against Arizona State, Kelley ran 34 times for 164 yards and a career-high four touchdowns in a 42–32 upset over the No. 24 Sun Devils. He rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns the following week against Colorado, helping the Bruins earn their fourth win and surpass their total from a year before. In the final game of his college career, Kelley ran for 76 yards against Cal to finish the season with 1,060 yards, becoming the eighth player in UCLA history to run for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons. His 96.4 yards rushing per game and 12 rushing touchdowns were both second in the conference behind Zack Moss of Utah. Kelley was named second-team All-Pac-12, the only Bruin to be named to either the first or second team. After being named to the Senior Bowl roster as a replacement for Moss, he improved his draft stock with a game-high 105 yards on 15 carries.

Professional career

Los Angeles Chargers Kelley was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL draft with the 112th overall pick. He competed with Justin Jackson to be the backup behind Chargers featured back Austin Ekeler. In his NFL debut in the 2020 season opener, Kelley had 60 rushing yards on 12 carries and scored the team's only touchdown on a five-yard run in the fourth quarter in a 16–13 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. He again ran for over 60 yards the following week, when he had 113 yards from scrimmage (64 rushing, 49 receiving) in a loss against the Kansas City Chiefs. However, he struggled after fumbling in consecutive weeks in close games against the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which damaged his confidence and led to a drop in playing time.

In the 2021 season opener, Kelley was listed as inactive, as rookie Larry Rountree III received the nod as the No. 3 running back. Kelley played in 10 games during the season, finishing with 33 carries for 102 yards along with five receptions for 38 yards.

In 2022, he entered training camp stronger after dedicating himself to improving physically during the offseason. He began the season playing behind Sony Michel, who was Ekeler's primary backup. In a Week 5 win over the Cleveland Browns, Kelley had 12 touches to Michel's one, running for 49 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and adding two catches for 33 yards. He suffered an MCL sprain in Week 6 and was placed on injured reserve on October 22, 2022. He was activated on November 26.

New York Giants On August 15, 2024, Kelley signed with the New York Giants. He was released by the Giants as part of preliminary roster cuts on August 25.

Tennessee Titans On October 15, 2024, Kelley signed with the Tennessee Titans' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 2. Kelley appeared in three games during the 2024 season.

Career statistics NFL Regular season LegendBoldCareer high Year Team Games Rushing Receiving GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD2020 LAC14 0 111 354 3.2 33 2 23 148 6.4 35 0 2021 LAC10 0 33 102 3.1 14 0 5 38 7.6 17 0 2022 LAC13 1 69 287 4.2 22 2 14 101 7.2 22 0 2023 LAC17 3 107 405 3.8 49 2 8 32 4.0 6 0 2024 TEN3 0 1 2 2.0 2 0 0 0 – – 0 Career57 4 321 1,150 3.6 49 6 50 319 6.4 35 0

Playoffs Year Team Games Rushing Receiving GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD2022 LAC 1 0 7 20 2.9 5 0 1 8 8.0 8 0 Career1 0 7 20 2.9 5 0 1 8 8.0 8 0

College Season Team GP Rushing Receiving Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD 2018 UCLA 11 225 1,243 4.9 12 27 193 7.1 0 2019 UCLA 11 229 1,060 4.6 12 11 71 6.5 0 Career 22 454 2,303 5.1 24 38 264 6.9 0

Personal life Kelley is a Christian. He is married to Mikaela Kelley.