The Nevada football team, though just one game into the 2026 season, has already found a star player. Sophomore running back Dominic Kelley had a memorable performance in Nevada’s home opener against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (WKU), on Saturday, Sept. 5.
He opened the scoring with a 72-yard rushing touchdown on just the second snap of the game, then continued to find the end zone again while finishing with 152 rushing yards.
Finishing with this impressive statline won Kelley the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week honors in Week 1.
Prior to his Nevada career, Kelley attended De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif.
During his high school career, Kelley was rated by 247Sports as a “three-star prospect” and played over three years of varsity football under head coach Justin Alumbaugh.
Kelley rushed for 2,034 yards and 30 touchdowns in high school, with 877 yards and ten touchdowns coming solely from his junior year season.
As a senior, he scored 16 touchdowns with 798 rushing yards and was ranked 22nd in the nation as De La Salle went 12-0 to win the North Coast Section (NCS) title.
As a freshman at Nevada, Kelley appeared in nine games during the 2025 season. The running back made his collegiate debut when Nevada first met Western Kentucky last season on Sept. 20, 2025.
His first collegiate touchdown was scored against San Jose State University in November of last year where he finished with 27 yards on six carries.
Now in his second year at Nevada, the 5-foot-11-inch, 215-pound running back is already fired up and making plays.
“It felt great, especially second play of the game.” Kelley said. “The hole was wide open, I took it 72 yards. It’s a great way to get the crowd in the game.”
A brief set-back for Kelley came from a second-quarter cramp that took him to the locker room until after halftime, but he was able to bounce back and find the in zone one last time, totaling two touchdowns, before the game ended.
“You know, get our guys going, everybody’s excited,” Kelley said. “Just a way to get it started.”
We will be looking forward to Dominic’s season with great interest!