IRVING, Texas – The University of South Alabama's Jesse Kelley was honored by the National Football Foundation on Wednesday with the announcement that he has been selected as a member of the 2015 NFF Hampshire Honor Society.
A total of 817 student-athletes from 278 schools qualified for membership in the society's ninth year, setting a new record for the number of schools represented in the history of the program that began in 2007.
Qualifications for membership in the NFF Hampshire Honor Society include: being a starter or a significant contributor in one's last year of eligibility (or a senior who has declared for the NFL Draft) at an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III or an NAIA college or university;
achieving a 3.2 cumulative grade-point average throughout entire course of undergraduate study; and
meeting all NCAA/NAIA-mandated progress towards degree requirements.
Kelley — who was presented the program's "Jim Yance Heart of a Jaguar Award" at the Pete Tolbert Night of Champions Monday — is slated to earn his degree from USA in less than two weeks; he is a meteorology major with a minor in geology, and has posted a 3.42 GPA entering his final semester. The senior was a first-team CoSIDA academic all-district selection in the fall as a defensive lineman, and has been a member of the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner's List each of the last two years.
On the field, Kelley earned honorable mention all-conference accolades in 2014 after pacing the Jag defensive line with a career-best 56 total stops and five sacks; he also equaled his previous high with 6½ tackles behind the line of scrimmage and broke up a pair of passes. In 42 appearances over five seasons, the native of Birmingham, Ala., earned three letters while recording 116 tackles, 19½ stops for loss and 9½ sacks.
His efforts helped the Jaguars participate in their first-ever postseason bowl game after facing Bowling Green in the inaugural Raycom Media Camellia Bowl in December.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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