I could be wrong but I don't think Kelly knew he was leaving ND three weeks before he left, let alone a year. The way Kelly leaving has been described sounded like when you hear about a husband in a relationship creating a Tinder profile "not to do anything, but just to see what's out there. For science." Next thing you know, the husband finds a blonde willing to PIIHB. The husband comes home and says "I could be doing this with her so you should let me do the same" and the wife says "Guess you should go do that with her then."
I think this simile is apt because Kelly did indeed end up fucking LSU in the ass.