Travis Kelce didn't always appear destined for greatness.
The Chiefs tight end is one of football's few international mega-stars, his on-the-field and off-the-field exploits drawing interest from across the globe. That wasn't always the case for the 34-year old. It wasn't expected to be, either.
Before Kelce rose to the top of the charts as a pass-catching maven with Kansas City, he was a lightly-recruited quarterback from Cleveland Heights, Ohio. The then-teenager hoped to catch on to a Division I program. A career in the NFL seemed a far unlikelier prospect.
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Here's what you need to know about Kelce's collegiate career:
Where did Travis Kelce go to college?
Kelce didn't have to travel too far to find his home for college, committing to Cincinnati over the likes of Akron, Eastern Michigan and Miami (OH).
At that point, Kelce was a fleet-footed hurler; during his senior year at Cleveland Heights High School, Kelce rushed for 1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns to go along with the 1,523 yards and 21 scores he accrued in the air.
Kelce received two-star billing on account of his high school career. He opted to join the Bearcats, who housed older brother, Jason, the team's starting left guard.
“There really wasn’t much of a recruiting process for me,” Kelce said. “Once I got the offer from Cincinnati, my brother was already there, I missed being around that dude. It was just like I wanted to go somewhere where I had that family feel to it, and I gave my parents one place to go to see both of us."
Kelce started his college career on the bench, receiving a redshirt during his first year on campus in 2008. He played sparingly as a redshirt freshman in '09, featuring in 11 games, mostly as a tight end and quarterback in Wildcat formation.
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Kelce saw his dreams of contributing in 2010 go up in smoke after the Bearcats suspended him for the whole of the season after he flunked a marijuana test.
“I got kicked off the team for having a little too much fun off the field,” Kelce said, per the Kansas City Star.
The then-21 year old believed his gridiron career — at least in that moment — was over. A local call center hired him in the spring semester, tasking the world's largest call center agent with phoning residents across the Midwest to sign-up for a new-fangled government initiative: Obamacare.
Kelce retained his place on the team for the 2011 season. His elder brother was a big reason why, having repeatedly gone to Cincinnati's then-head coach, Butch Jones, and plead for him to give Kelce a second chance.
Jones handed Kelce a spot back on the roster. There was but one condition: he had to maintain a 3.0 GPA.
Kelce did him one better; he finished the semester with a 3.2.
In 2011, Kelce showed signs of life as a full-time tight end. He only had 13 receptions in 11 games. Two were for touchdowns, however.
Those performances set the stage for an eye-catching senior campaign which saw Kelce record totals of 45 catches, 722 yards and eight touchdowns. He was rewarded with a spot on the All-Big East first team and hoisted the Belk Bowl trophy at the end of the season.
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Travis Kelce college stats
Kelce's college numbers look a bit uneven, especially when compared to the consistent excellence he has shown at the NFL level. Such is life when redshirts, suspensions and a change of position eat away into your playtime.
Below are Kelce's stats from his time with the Bearcats.
| Year | Catches | Yards | TDs | Yards/catch |
| 2008* | — | — | — | — |
| 2009 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3.0 |
| 2010** | — | — | — | — |
| 2011 | 13 | 150 | 2 | 11.5 |
| 2012 | 45 | 722 | 8 | 16.0 |
| Total | 59 | 875 | 10 | 14.8 |
*Kelce redshirted as a freshman.
*Kelce was suspended in 2010.
Kelce's final tally may look a bit underwhelming when compared to other top tight ends in the NFL. However, the context of his toils, coupled with his rapid development in his final two seasons in The Queen City, was enough for Kansas City to take a flyer on the 23-year old in the third round of the 2013 draft. Based on his level of performances over the past 13 seasons, it seems to have been an inspired choice.
