When Thomas Booker IV thinks about his college teammate Kyu Blu Kelly, his memories take him back to September 11, 2021, inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – ironically, a former home to the Raiders.
The Stanford Cardinal were facing the 14th ranked USC Trojans, up 21-13 midway through the fourth quarter. Trojans quarterback Kedon Slovis lined up in shotgun formation on 3rd-and-5, looking for his first read on Drake London running a stick route.
London, who led the Atlanta Falcons in receiving yards and catches last season, bobbled the pass as Kelly put himself in position to swoop in on the ball mid air. The cornerback took the interception back to the end zone 31 yards for a touchdown, as the Cardinal pulled off a 42-28 upset.
With six solo tackles, three pass deflections and that interception, Kelly was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week.
"I literally remember being on the field for his pick-six," Booker said. "It was a huge game for us, so I have that specific memory burned in my head. He's a playmaker, he's been a playmaker and will continue to be one."
Kelly was always a fan of Booker's game as well, saying that he and the defensive tackle were "super tight" as college teammates. Booker was a two-time All-Pac-12 selection, recording 43 solo tackles and eight tackles for loss as an upperclassman.
"We're best of friends," Kelly said. "Him trusting me in the back end and I'm always trusting him to be in his gap and be where he needs to be."
The two defenders also share similar journeys en route to the Las Vegas Raiders. Booker was drafted in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft to the Houston Texans. The following year, Kelly was selected in the same round to the Baltimore Ravens.
After playing 10 games for the Texans his rookie season, Booker was waived. He then signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, spending a year on the practice squad before appearing in all 21 regular season and playoff games in their Super Bowl run.
Heading into the preseason, the Raiders believed they needed more depth at interior defensive line. Player personnel additions Brandon Hunt and Anthony Patch joined John Spytek's staff from the Eagles, and possibly influenced the front office to acquire Booker via trade in exchange for cornerback Jakorian Bennett.
Within 72 hours, Booker arrived to Las Vegas and then traveled with the team to Seattle to play in their first preseason game.
"It was bittersweet but exciting, because we all miss JB [Jakorian Bennett]," Kelly said. "We all wish him the best. ... But then I found out I was getting my old college teammate. I was like, 'Wow, that's crazy!' I mean, I lost a friend and got another one."
In a way, the Raiders trading for Booker also created a chain reaction for Kelly to get on the field.
The Las Vegas native spent time with four teams before signing to his hometown team's practice squad in 2024. He was signed to the active roster in mid-December and appeared in four games over the course of the season.
"My story is all about perseverance," he said. "There were times where I definitely thought, 'Man, this is a lot.' I'm on this team, that team, that team, but I always felt through my faith in God and my hard work that something was going to happen. Opportunity was going to open up once again."
That opportunity came as the cornerback room had one less player and Kelly competed to earn in enlarged role within the defense. He worked his way from being a fringe option to make the 53-man roster to a starter in less than a month.
"We haven't really nailed that one, what it was, but there was a shift," Pete Carroll said of Kelly's surge. "Coming out of the offseason, I didn't see it coming. I didn't see it because he was kind of bouncing around different spots a little bit, played a little bit of nickel and all that. But it was about now probably three weeks ago that there was some clarity here, that something's happening. And there's rumblings coming on where 36 was playing, and so we just gave him more chances."
Now at the professional level, Booker and Kelly were starters together on the field in Week 1 for the first time in nearly four years.
Booker finished with three total tackles and three quarterback pressures, all while being double-teamed on nearly 50 percent of his snaps.
"He's a pro's pro," defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said. "He came in with a smile on his face, willing to learn, put in the time and he has an element of toughness to him in practice. We saw that, the physicality was there. He's very strong. He stood out pretty quickly. Pleasure to be around, like talking to him during the game. It's been interesting there, you know, a Stanford guy."
Kelly was also battle tested in his first career start. He finished second on the team in solo tackles (seven) and a pass deflection. The Raiders defense allowed three points in the second half, coming away with a 20-13 win.
Overall, Booker was impressed with his teammate's performance and is confident they'll both improve throughout the season.
"Kyu was balling," Booker said. "I think that he played a great game. I think for me, I tried to have high effort, high physicality, high detail. And I want to say I accomplished that more than I didn't. But the wonderful thing about football is that for all the good things that I did, I saw a ton of things I can improve on. I'm just excited to stack week over week. For me, I try to stay in the present."
