Back in the early 2000’s when BB&N head coach Mike Willey was an offensive lineman blocking for former Natick star running back Keven Kelley at Tufts, there’s no way he could have envisioned coaching multiple generations of the family years later.
Jack Kelley is a senior captain playing edge and wide receiver on Willey’s team while Sam is a sophomore fullback and linebacker on the squad. Both are sons of Brett Kelley, Keven’s brother.
Both Keven and Brett are coaching in the Natick Youth Football organization and are basically football royalty in Natick. Keven broke Darren Flutie’s all-time rushing record in 1997 and held it for a decade. Brett’s youngest is Will and he’s playing for his dad and uncle while Keven’s son Ryan is also playing on the seventh grade team. Their squad has gone unbeaten for the last two seasons and won back-to-back Bay State Super Bowls. Brett’s wife Kate was also a standout three-sport athlete at NHS in the late 90’s.
Needless to say, if you’re at a game in Natick or in Cambridge, you’re going to hear the name a lot of the course of a couple hours.
“There couldn’t be a more bought in, football family,” Willey said in a recent phone interview. “They’re all in on football. They love it. They love BB&N. They love the school, they’re just all in on it. It’s really a great match, for sure. Obviously, I go way back to my Tufts days with their uncle Keven, so it’s been kind of funny to see how things have worked out now coaching these guys. That’s where the original connection started.
“They’re (Jack and Sam) both incredibly hard workers. They both really care about football. They both want to get better every single day. They do all the things to make themselves as good as possible and they’re both great teammates. I think part of that is they have each other to push the other one constantly. They work out together and do all the things in the offseason together. It’s been an awesome experience.”
For Brett, watching his sons play together and grow up – hopefully pursing the college football dream together as well – has been one of the more special things you can imagine as a parent. Jack is already committed to Trinity College while Sam already received an offer from UMass head coach Don Brown last year as a freshman.
“Football is such an important part of our family. Growing up in Natick with such a rich football tradition, it was impossible not to develop a love for the game at a very young age,” he said. “As a captain at Natick High in 1995, I got to play a season with my younger brother Keven who went on to become one of Natick’s all-time greats and I still remember what a thrill that was. It’s hard not to think about that when I see Jack and Sam take the field together now. Their younger brother, Will, is following in their footsteps as a seventh grader in the Natick AYF program where he’s been playing since second grade. He also plays football whenever he can, which usually means fitting it in around lacrosse and basketball in the offseason.”
Will is already building quite a resumé himself. In the 2022 Bay State AYF Super Bowl against Quincy, he had 17 carries for 272 yards and four rushing touchdowns in a 28-13 win.
As brothers will do, there’s always a bit of competition between both Jack and Sam at practice, which Willey gets a chuckle out of.
“They’ll go in some competitive drills together and yeah, they don’t look like brothers then, I can tell ya that,” Willey said with a laugh.
For both Jack and Sam, from the memories growing up in the backyard to the point they’re at now BB&N, the entire journey has been special.
“It’s awesome. This will be our third year playing at BB&N together and it’s been really cool to be able to line up alongside Sam every week,” Jack said. “We’ll be able to look back years from now and realize how lucky we were to get the opportunity to play together.”
“It’s been pretty special, especially this year with Jack as one of our captains,” Sam added. “Playing with him has definitely made me a better football player. We’re always competing against each other, whether it’s during drills at practice or in the weight room.”
“For me, it was our first game at BB&N two years ago at Governor’s Academy,” Jack said when asked what his favorite memory is so far. “I was a sophomore starting at outside linebacker and Sam was an eighth grader playing defensive end. That was the first time we ever lined up together in a football game. It was a special day for the whole family,” explained Jack.
Sam went with a slightly different and more recent one.
“It has to be the Nobles game last season,” he said. “Jack played great in that game and made a bunch of plays in the clutch that really carried us on defense. It’s also awesome to play under him as a captain this year. He’s setting a great example for me and it’s been fun to watch him lead the team this preseason.”
When it comes to athletic families, the whole “following in a parents footsteps” thing was pretty much predetermined for the Kelley boys. These guys can’t even remember a time where football wasn’t part of their lives.
“For as long as I can remember,” Jack said when asked if he knew when he’d be following the same path his uncle and father took. “I played a lot of other sports growing up but was always an aggressive, physical athlete so football was a natural fit. I love everything about it – the competition, the discipline, the camaraderie. And I’ve been lucky to have awesome coaches and teammates along the way, both in Natick and at BB&N.”
“Since my first year of tackle football in second grade,” added Sam. “We’re a huge football family and it’s been my favorite sport since I started playing. Between Natick AYF, Mass Elite, Worcester Cowboys and BB&N, I’ve been playing football year round for a while now. I can’t imagine not playing.”
The Kelley’s continuing a legacy at BB&N is nothing new. There have been several brother tandems to go through the program, which is a testament to the quality of the Knights’ operation.
“I think it’s kind of a credit to the kids in our program where you have guys saying ‘oh, yeah, I want my brother here too,” he said. “It’s always been a real positive part of the program, for sure.”
BB&N opens its season this Friday night at Milton Academy and you can be sure the name “Kelley” will be heard quite a bit, as it has been on Natick and Tufts PA systems for decades now.
“I couldn’t be prouder of both Jack and Sam,” Brett added. “Playing for Coach Willey and the staff at BB&N has been such a fantastic opportunity for them and they’ve worked hard to capitalize on that. Jack will be playing great football at a great school when he joins Trinity next season and it’s really exciting to think about what Sam will do when it’s his turn.
“Ultimately, football is family for us. My brother and I still coach together in the Natick AYF program and every game the boys play is like a mini family reunion with some combination of grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles always there to cheer them on. It’s definitely all consuming, especially in the fall, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s nothing I’d rather do than watch them play football. Kate and I couldn’t be any prouder of these boys. Football has played such a huge part in their lives so far and we’re really excited to see where their football careers take them.”
