Just how good of a recruiter is Auburn football's Charles Kelly? A breakdown of his resume
AUBURN — Former Auburn football coach Bryan Harsin wasn't exactly the best recruiter in the Southeastern Conference during his tenure on the Plains, but even he put an emphasis on the Tigers acquiring the five-star duo of James Smith and Qua Russaw out Carver High School in Montgomery.
The talented defensive pair — Russaw a linebacker and Smith a lineman — combined for 155 tackles, 28 tackles for loss and 14 sacks amidst their senior seasons, helping the Wolverines to a 9-2 record. Russaw's junior campaign saw him rack up 130 tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss and 16 sacks by himself.
But the Tigers didn't get either one, as the two signed with Alabama as a package deal. Russaw didn't see the field as a true freshman, and Smith was used sparingly with 68 defensive snaps spread out over nine appearances, per Pro Football Focus.
Who did 247Sports tab as the primary recruiter on both of their recruitments? Charles Kelly, a former Auburn football player who at the time was the assistant defensive coordinator/safeties coach under Nick Saban at Alabama. Kelly has returned home, though, officially joining Hugh Freeze's staff Friday after one season with Deion Sanders at Colorado.
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Kelly, who was tabbed as a co-defensive coordinator by the Tigers, is back at his alma mater to recruit. Russaw and Smith made up only half of the five-star haul he helped the Crimson Tide bring in, as he was also the primary recruiter on edge defender Yhonzae Pierre and safety Caleb Downs.
That quartet, along with the four-star prospects he assisted Alabama in landing, earned Kelly the title of 247Sports National Recruiter of the Year for the Class of 2023. He was No. 4 in 2022, No. 14 in 2021 and No. 11 in 2021, consistently helping Saban restock the cupboard over the four years he was in Tuscaloosa.
Kelly has been the primary recruiter on 25 blue-chip prospects over his 31-year collegiate coaching career, which includes early stops at Jacksonville State (1994-98), Henderson State (1999) and Nicholls State (2002-05) before advancing to the likes of Georgia Tech (2006-12), Florida State (2013-17), Tennessee (2018) and later Alabama and Colorado.
The majority of the elite prospects Kelly has landed came when he was at Alabama — 17 of the 25 — but he's got at least one recruit at every stop since his time with the Yellow Jackets that had a four-star ranking or better, including offensive tackle Nick Claytor at Georgia Tech in 2007.
Claytor isn't the only offensive prospect Kelly has focused on, either. Though he was a DB as a player and has coached on the defensive side of the ball for the vast majority of the last three decades, eight of the blue-chip recruits he's been the primary recruiter on were offensive players.
One of those offensive talents has made it to the NFL so far — wide receiver Travis Rudolph, who played at Florida State — though the majority of them such as WR Isaiah Bond and offensive linemen Terrance Ferguson and Javion Cohen are still playing college football.
There's much more NFL history for Kelly on defense. Former recruits Will Anderson and Brian Branch were first- and second-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, and current players such as Downs and Cormani McClain (Colorado) project to get professional chances down the line. Alabama CB Terrion Arnold could be an early-round pick in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, too.
While news of Auburn's other DC hire is yet to be announced, one thing is certain: The Tigers brought an ace recruiter to the Plains, and even a fraction of his Alabama success will help propel them up the rankings.
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: The recruiting history of Auburn football co-DC Charles Kelly
