KNOXVILLE -- With a father who played football at Tennessee and an older sister who's a cheerleader at Alabama, Todd Kelly Jr. has some knowledge of what life is like in the rough and tumble Southeastern Conference.
The Tennessee safety got his first personal taste of it last season as a freshman.
"You've got to mature fast in this league," Kelly said Tuesday afternoon following Tennessee's practice. "It's the SEC, so you've got to grow up every day. I'm just taking it day by day and trying to get better."
He's got a couple of veterans in Brian Randolph and LaDarrell McNeil he's trying to follow and learn from as he's competing with them for playing time at one of Tennessee's strongest positions. They, like Kelly last season, were All-SEC freshman team picks in 2011 and 2012.
Tennessee defensive back Todd Kelly, Jr., tackles Missouri's Russell Hansbrough during the Vols' football game against the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.
Georgia running back Todd Gurley (3) tries to break free from Tennessee defensive back Brian Randolph (37) Saturday in Athens, Ga. Georgia won 35-32.
Tennessee defensive back LaDarrell McNeil (33) intercepts an Iowa pass during the second half of the TaxSlayer Bowl NCAA college football game Friday, Jan. 2, 2015, in Jacksonville, Fla. Tennessee won 45-28.The two seniors have 65 career starts between them, but Kelly, a rising sophomore and former four-star recruit, may be the most talented of the group. The 6-foot, 203-pounder started three games in 2014 and finished with 33 tackles and three interceptions, all in key moments in SEC games.
If there's a competition among three players for two spots, Kelly is downplaying it at this early stage of spring practice.
"I'm trying to go out there and compete," he said. "At the same time, it's not about me, it's about the team. When we can all go out there and play our butts off for each other, that's what it's all about."
However secondary coach Willie Martinez wants to slice it, having three safeties with the experience and production of Randolph, McNeil and Kelly is a good situation.
"What it does is it helps your entire football team," Martinez said after one practice last week. "Those guys are like coaches, so when something is being said, or something is being coached up, they're actually beating me to it. From a leadership standpoint, it's unbelievable. It really is. That's what it does, and that's what I'm talking about that competition.
"You never can get enough experience. They've got that. They've got great leadership qualities, and they're like coaches on the field. You have to be that way to play defense. As fast as the offenses are, you have to be really smart at processing stuff, and that's where you get an advantage of having (these) guys."
It's a little bit dicier elsewhere in the secondary.
The Vols will be without Emmanuel Moseley for "a few weeks" after learning the starting cornerback has mononucleosis, head coach Butch Jones said after practice.
Factor that in with the departure of nickel corner Justin Coleman and Tennessee wanting to limit Cam Sutton's reps this spring, and the Vols are suddenly thin at corner, where they'll welcome a trio of incoming signees this summer.
Safety is a key recruiting need for 2016, but Tennessee is set there for the upcoming season.
"We do have experience there, and we're going to rely on them, not only at the safety position, but in the special-teams game as well," Jones said. "You can never have enough, and (freshman) Stephen Griffin is doing a very good job as well. The thing I like about those three individuals is they're helping through everything.
"They're helping him through the transition, they're coaching him, they're communicating with him on every single snap, and Stephen is a very competitive young man. They've been a great asset to the overall DB position group."
Kelly is almost viewed as a veteran now, but he's actually going through his first spring practice and trying to make the most of it as he tries to earn more playing time.
"It's a gradual process," he said. "I still make mental errors and I need to work on that. My goal is to not make any mistakes on the football field.
"When I mess up, I try to go and correct myself the next day, so that's what I'm doing every day."
As for his own words that the SEC requires daily maturing, Kelly acknowledged that, too, is a process he's still going through at this early stage of his promising career.
"I wouldn't say (it was) consistent, because when you're a freshman you have so much to learn and a lot of pressure on you," he said. "I just try to learn every day, and I'm still maturing. I'm still young, still have a long way to go in this program. Taking it day by day, week by week, I'm still learning new things.
"In terms of maturity, I'm trying to become more mature like the older guys, because they know a lot about the game and plays come to them pretty easy now. I'm trying to be like that."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.