It’s hard to find a defensive play without UAlbany’s Dylan Kelly in the middle of it. The senior linebacker is always flying around the field, shedding blocks and bringing down ballcarriers.

“What led to that is just all the work that just me and my teammates do, all the d-linemen do in the offseason just preparing for this,” said Kelly, an Amherst native.

It probably surprises few UAlbany football fans that Kelly is currently second for total tackles in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision with 145. He broke UAlbany’s single-season tackle record of 143 during the regular-season-ending win over Monmouth to claim a share of the Coastal Athletic Association championship.

Kelly is the catalyst for a Great Danes defense that made huge improvements this year, and has been stonewalling runners week after week to become the best rushing defense in the nation.

“I know for me, I was light last year,” said Kelly, who was recently named the CAA defensive player of the year. “Just gaining weight, putting on muscle, and still trying to be as fast as I can just in the offseason.”

Growing up in Western New York, Kelly has been around the game his whole life. Everyone in his family played football, creating endless competition on the gridiron. “It was a given,” he said. “You had to play football, and then pick whatever other sport you want.”

That includes his uncle, Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, who is always offering tips to advance his game.

“[There’s] him like telling me little simple cues that the quarterback can have that would help me as a defensive player and a linebacker,” Kelly said.

He doesn’t bring up the unique connection unless someone asks. Kelly prefers to keep it low-key and let his play on the field do all the talking, just like those before him.

“With Jim, I also had two other uncles that played at Richmond, and one other played in the NFL back in the days when it was the Baltimore Colts,” he said.

UAlbany will host Richmond at noon Saturday in the second round of the NCAA FCS playoffs at Casey Stadium. The Spiders won a share of the CAA title with the Great Danes and Villanova.

Now in his final year at UAlbany, Kelly hopes to earn the same opportunities as his uncles and get a shot at the NFL. He wants to keep the Kelly name going as he prepares to make a run in the playoffs with the Great Danes.

“From Uncle Jim, I still get texts before games. He’s like, ‘good luck,’ ” Kelly said. “ 'Just play you, just play the way you know how, and just be a good leader to everybody.’ ”