Brown: Louisville football DB Cam Kelly gets redemption after last showing at NC State

RALEIGH, N.C. — For Louisville football, Friday night’s 13-10 win at N.C. State was a hard-fought road victory to keep them unbeaten on the season. For safety Cam'Ron Kelly, it was redemption two years in the making.

The Chesapeake, Virginia, native, who prefers to go by "Cam" because people mistakenly pronounce his name "Cameron" instead of like two first names, "Cam-Ron," experienced one of the lowest points in his football career on his last trip to Carter-Finley Stadium in 2021.

“Go make the play,” was the mantra Kelly took from that defeat, when he was a starting safety for North Carolina and he was part of the reason the Wolfpack rallied from nine to win in the closing minutes.

“To be honest, I owed them boys one,” Kelly said. “That stuck with me for a long time.”

Back then, Kelly — like many N.C. State fans he watched trickle into the aisles and head for the exits — thought the game was over when the Tar Heels took a 30-21 lead with 2:12 left.

How the Wolfpack turned that into a 34-30 win remains one of Kelly’s worst memories in sports. Kelly got caught out of position when he was supposed to be helping the cornerback in cover-2. He had too much ground to cover his mistake, allowing receiver Emeka Emezie to catch a touchdown pass.

After the Pack recovered an onside kick, Kelly again was in coverage getting beat by Emezie for the game-winning score. Kelly left the field numb from giving up two touchdowns in 26 seconds. But he said he learned a lot from that defeat.

“Don’t disguise yourself out of the play that's supposed to be your play,” Kelly said. “Go make the play. That’s what I learned.”

Kelly transferred from UNC in December, initially signing with Virginia. He participated with the Cavaliers through spring drills before he reentered the portal and joined U of L. His move benefited both, as Kelly is now on a 5-0 team and the Cards have another veteran they can depend on in the secondary.

N.C. State shut out U of L in the first half by shutting down what was the ACC’s leading rushing attack. The Cards had just 29 yards rushing in the first half, and the Pack was looking to add onto its 10-0 lead on the opening drive of the second half.

Quarterback Brennan Armstrong recognized when U of L starting cornerback Quincy Riley left the game and reserve Trey Franklin replaced him, taking advantage on the next play. Armstrong threw right at Franklin, who was covering Terrell Timmons Jr., for a 45-yard reception to the U of L 15.

The Cards needed a stop.

Go make the play.

Kelly said he wanted to cheat toward Armstrong’s favorite receiver K.C. Concepcion, but “his eyes brought me right to where he was going.” Kelly picked off Armstrong in the end zone to end that threat.

“All the quarterbacks know that if there's a blitz coming, you're trying to replace the blitz with a throw, so he tried to throw it to the boundary, and I was right there,” Kelly said. “And I was like, ‘Gotcha.’”

Two possessions later, the Pack again crossed midfield into U of L territory, this time leading 10-7. The Cards had momentum on their side as Kelly made his second big impact on the game.

Go make the play.

As Armstrong crossed over the Wolfpack logo, Kelly delivered a blow that jarred the ball loose. Ramon Puryear recovered the fumble that would lead to a game-tying field goal.

“Cam really just kind of has a knack for football,” U of L coach Jeff Brohm said. “He understands that. He's played a lot, and the experience shows.” Kelly was responsible for two of three turnovers U of L forced in the game. The final pick came with 1:33 left when Armstrong floated a pass to nowhere while being hit, essentially gifting it to Riley for an interception to seal the game.

When the teams shook hands after time expired, Kelly stood by himself, helmet in hand, and seemingly had a special handshake or congratulatory word with every teammate who walked past.

He's no longer haunted by the Pack.

The quarterback who threw those two touchdowns two years ago? He's still out there. And Devin Leary just so happened to transfer to Kentucky, where he is the starter.

If Friday was the long-awaited sequel Kelly was after, the regular season finale against the Cats represents his chance to complete the trilogy.

Stay tuned.

Defense delivers: Louisville football wins at NC State as Jeff Brohm's Cards improve to 5-0

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville football beats NC State as former UNC DB gets redemption