In Play(er) of the Week, our goal is to highlight outstanding athletes or moments from games that deserve extra attention.
Donte Kelly ’29, a wide receiver on the football team from Meriden, Conn., announced his arrival with a breakout performance in Wesleyan’s 31–17 victory over Middlebury in its season opener. He finished with seven receptions for 118 yards—a program record for a collegiate debut—and a touchdown. Kelly opened Wesleyan’s scoring spree with a 12-yard shovel pass, then provided fireworks late in the first half with an electrifying 51-yard catch-and-run that set up a chip shot field goal before halftime. The Argus sat down with Kelly to discuss the win on Saturday, the adjustment to college football, and his family.
The Argus: All right, so take me back to the beginning of your football career. When did you start playing?
Donte Kelly: I started playing when I was 10. I wanted to play when I was younger, but my mom didn’t let me. She was pretty nervous about it; didn’t want me to get hurt or anything. I jumped around a lot: I played for my hometown Meriden Raiders, and then I switched to New Britain Hurricanes, and then went back to Meriden. I played at Platt High School, then transferred freshman year to Maloney High School, and I played grad at Choate [Rosemary Hall], and now I’m here.
A: Have you always been a wide receiver?
DK: I played running back growing up and then when I got to high school, I transferred to wide receiver.
A: Are there any receivers you model your game after?
DK: I look up to Zay Flowers and Tyreek Hill, because similar sizes, similar play styles…they are super shifty.
A: What would you say your favorite part of being a wide out is?
DK: Catching the ball and scoring touchdowns. I feel like making big plays is great. It’s a great feeling.
A: Are there any coaches, friends, or family members who have had a big impact on either your football career or just your life growing up?
DK: I would just say my mom because she’s a single mom. So I look up to her. She works every day and then she just keeps working. So watching her do that growing up just motivated me to do better and make her proud, and I try to do that every day.
A: How’d you decide you wanted to come to Wesleyan?
DK: Honestly Coach Dice [Dan DiCenzo]. He and the coaching staff showed me a lot of love. They showed me they really wanted me…I feel like I belong here at Wesleyan.
A: So, you wear number six. Chase Wilson ’25 wore that for the past four years, what honor comes with wearing that number?
DK: It’s a big honor and I just want to keep six rolling. I don’t want to let Chase down because I know how huge of an impact he had on this program and I’m just trying to show everybody there’s a new six in Middletown.
A: You’re from nearby in Meriden. What’s it like to be able to play so close to home?
DK: It’s great because all my hometown friends and all my family can make it to all the home games, and seeing their support is great; and I just love being close because I have a baby sister at home. She’s one year old, so being able to see her and my family whenever I can is the best feeling.
A: How was preseason? There was a month of practice leading up to Saturday, so how did you and the team stay focused?
DK: I feel like preseason practice was rough in a good way and I feel like the coaches pushed me to have accountability, and the way they put all the stuff on me during preseason prepared me for the first game. I think the team handled it really well and it was just a team game. Seeing my guys working hard and seeing how focused and locked in they are made me want to be just like them and all the upperclassmen. I look up to them.
A: So you mentioned the upperclassmen, has anyone specifically taken you under their wing?
DK: I would say Blake Newcomb ’27 and Samuel Wien ’28. They are both receivers. I am with them a lot because we’re all in a group together, so I ask them for help and they are great. Overall, I’ll say all the wide receivers and quarterbacks are a group and they’re really helpful. They knew that I was gonna contribute in the game because they could see how hard I was working, so that gave me confidence, and they let me know that if I ever need anything, I could always ask for help, and that’s what I did.
A: What have been some of the biggest surprises of college football or just college in general?
DK: I’ll just say, the atmosphere, like everybody coming out just to watch the Saturday game—it’s packed. It’s amazing to see all the teachers, and also, to play in the center of campus is great. Everyone is there and passing by, and seeing everyone off the field is great too.
A: You scored the first touchdown of the year for the team on a schemed-up play for you. Was this a play you knew that might be called going into the game?
DK: Yes, I definitely knew that we’d call that, but I didn’t know when. I just knew whenever it was called, I had to do whatever I could do to get [in the] end zone.
A: How did the play unfold?
DK: Yeah, I’ll say we talked about it all practice. They all told me it was gonna be a touchdown and I knew they had my back, so once I caught the pass and I saw the hole and running back Matt Diaz [’28] set a great block outside, I was like, hell yeah, this is it.
A: Anything else about the game that was a key to the win?
DK: The team never gave up. It was a tough battle in the beginning, we started off slow, but then we all just came together and it came as one. We’re all new playing with each other, so I feel like once we really get all the chemistry down, we’re gonna be unstoppable.
A: What are your personal goals the rest of the season?
DK: Well, my number one personal goal is winning a championship with the team and building bonds for a lifetime with them. I don’t want to be best friends with them just during a football season, I want to be best friends with them after the football season and moving forward.
A: What are the team goals the rest of the season, and how will the team achieve them?
DK: Obviously, it’s going back-to-back. I see us even working harder at practice every day and taking it day by day. We know that mistakes will happen, but we have to move forward and come together and hold each other accountable.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Sam Weitzman-Kurker can be reached at sweitzmankur@wesleyan.edu.
Leave a Reply to Starr Cancel reply