NCAAF teams
Erik McKinney, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Caleb Kelly announces his top seven

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. -- Caleb Kelly has had some difficulty in narrowing down his substantial list of offers. The nation’s No. 60 overall prospect has taken two cracks at coming up with a top-10 list before settling on a top 12.

That changed this week, as the 6-foot-3, 222-pound outside linebacker released his final seven schools shortly after arriving at The Opening.

That Michigan, Oklahoma and Stanford made the list was no surprise. Those three are joined by Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon and USC.

“Of course, the one that sticks out is Oklahoma,” Kelly said. “They’ve been there since the beginning and they’ll probably stick out until the end.”

Kelly, of Fresno, California, raved about his visit to see the Cardinal, as the coaching staff and atmosphere had a big impact.

Michigan is a school making up ground in a hurry.

“Michigan, I’ve been real high on them lately,” Kelly said. “So those three will definitely be in there, and the other ones I’ll keep for a surprise.”

Oklahoma has had a terrific success rate recruiting in Fresno, and the Sooners are looking to add Kelly to their recent haul.

Kelly mentioned the connection via Tony Perry’s 7-on-7 team, DB Guru. Courtney Viney is a former protégé and now a graduate assistant at Oklahoma. Hatari Byrd, L.J. Moore and Michiah Quick are all from the Fresno area and have all signed with the Sooners.

“The Sooners are saying that’s the ‘New No,’” Kelly said of Norman. “We call Fresno ‘The No.’”

Kelly hasn’t yet spoken to coaches about official visits but said Stanford likely won’t get one due to its proximity. Michigan and Oklahoma, however, are likely to be visit destinations.

USC is definitely an interesting addition to the list, especially because the Trojans were not a part of Kelly's initial top 10 and have replaced UCLA as the Los Angeles school in Kelly's top group.

He doesn’t yet know exactly when this top group will begin to narrow, but Kelly said he won’t be adding any this time.

“I will take officials, maybe make a top five or a top three,” Kelly said. “Then I will have my hats on the table on signing day.”

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