Chad Kelly
| Ole Miss Rebels No. 10 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Class |
 Senior |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| High school | St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | March 26, 1994 |
| Place of birth | Buffalo, New York |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 224 lb (102 kg) |
| |
Chad Patrick Kelly (born March 26, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Ole Miss Rebels.
Early years
Kelly was born to Charlene Cudzylo and Kevin Kelly, a supermarket manager and the younger brother of quarterback Jim Kelly. He spent his early years in Western New York, his mother's home area, not far from where his uncle Jim was playing professional football. Chad Kelly was a consistent strong performer in Punt, Pass, and Kick competitions as a youth. His family moved to Red Lion, Pennsylvania after Kevin was reassigned to a grocery store in the area, but unexplained disciplinary issues had him removed from the Red Lion High School Football team and therefore prompted Chad to return to Western New York.[1] As Jim Kelly had only one son of his own (Hunter Kelly), who died from illness at age 8, Chad Kelly earned a reputation as Jim's heir apparent. Jim attempted to guide his nephew, but felt that Chad was not listening to Jim's advice.[1]
Kelly attended St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute in Tonawanda, New York. He passed for 2,159 yards and 24 touchdowns and rushed for 1,059 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior. He passed for 3,050 yards, 27 touchdowns and rushed for 991 yards with 14 touchdowns as a senior. He was rated by Rivals.com as a four-star recruit and was ranked among the top dual-threat quarterbacks in his class.[2] Kelly committed to Clemson University to play college football.[3]
College career
Clemson University
Kelly was redshirted his first year at Clemson in 2012. As a freshman in 2013, he appeared in five games, passing for 58 yards and rushing for 117 yards with a touchdown. In April 2014, Kelly was dismissed from Clemson's football team due to conduct detrimental to the team[4]
East Mississippi Community College
He transferred to East Mississippi Community College, where he spent one year. In his lone season, he started 12 games and threw for 3,906 yards with 47 touchdowns and eight interceptions.[5] He led East Mississippi to a 12-0 record and victory in the NJCAA National Football Championship.
University of Mississippi
In December 2014, Kelly committed to the University of Mississippi.[6][7] In his first year at Ole Miss, Kelly was named the starting quarterback.[8][9]
Kelly played in his first game with Mississippi on September 5, 2015 against UT Martin and completed 9 for 15 pass attempts for 211 yards and 2 touchdowns while also scoring a 20-yard rushing touchdown. On September 19, 2015, he led Ole Miss to its second victory ever at Tuscaloosa. In the 43-37 victory over #2 Alabama, he completed 18 out of 33 completions for 341 passing yards and 3 passing touchdowns. On November 7, 2015, Kelly accounted for 478 total yards and 6 touchdowns against Arkansas. Although he threw completed 24/34 passes for 368 passing yards and 3 passing touchdowns, Mississippi loss to Arkansas 52-53 in overtime. The following week he would throw for 2 touchdowns and rush for 2 touchdowns in a 38-17 victory over #15 LSU. On January 1, 2016, he would lead Ole Miss to a 48-20 victory over #16 Oklahoma State in the 2016 All-State Sugar Bowl. He won Sugar Bowl MVP Honors after accounting for 21/33 completions for 302 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Kelly also led the team with 73 rushing yards on 10 carries. His 4 passing touchdowns tied a Sugar bowl record and were most by a Rebel's quarterback in the Sugar bowl.[10]
He finished his first season with Ole Miss with 298/458 (65.1%) completions for 31 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He also accounted for 10 rushing touchdowns while appearing in all 13 games. While finishing the season with a 10-3 record he became the first Ole Miss quarterback to lead the Rebels with victories over Alabama, Auburn, and LSU in the same season.
On November 5, 2016, Kelly suffered an injury during a 27-37 victory over Georgia Southern. The following day, it was reported that he would miss the rest of the season due to a torn ACL and a torn lateral meniscus. This injury also effectively ends his college career as he is expected to enter the 2017 NFL Draft and since this season is his last year of eligibility unless he appeals to the NCAA.[11]
Personal
His uncle is Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly.[12] His younger brother, Casey Kelly, also plays quarterback for St. Joseph's.[13]
In December 2014, Kelly was arrested following an altercation outside of a Buffalo, New York nightclub in which he got into a fight with bouncers, reportedly threatened to return with an AK-47, and resisted arrest. His plea deal resulted in criminal charges being dropped in favor of a guilty plea to disorderly conduct and 50 hours of community service.[14]
References
- 1 2 Graham, Tim (December 20, 2015). "Chad Kelly rises from the depths to college football's pinnacle". The Buffalo News. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- ↑ "Chad Kelly".
- ↑ "Chad Kelly commits to Clemson". ESPN.com.
- ↑ "Clemson Tigers dismiss QB Chad Kelly for conduct detrimental to the team". ESPN.com.
- ↑ "Ole Miss quarterback hopeful Chad Kelly attracts the spotlight".
- ↑ "East Mississippi QB Chad Kelly commits to Ole Miss". AL.com.
- ↑ Riley Blevins, The Clarion-Ledger (December 10, 2014). "East Mississippi QB Chad Kelly commits to Ole Miss". The Clarion Ledger.
- ↑ Fox Sports. "Freeze names Chad Kelly as opening game starter". FOX Sports.
- ↑ Hugh Kellenberger and Jeffrey Wright, Clarion-Ledger (August 31, 2015). "Chad Kelly is Ole Miss' starter in week 1, at least". The Clarion Ledger.
- ↑ OleMissSports.com. "Ole Miss Rebels Official Athletics:Chad Kelly Biography". Retrieved October 15, 2016.
- ↑ Chase Good bread (November 6, 2016). "Chad Kelly to undergo season-ending knee surgery". NFL.com. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
- ↑ "Who is Chad Kelly? New Ole Miss quarterback is Jim Kelly's nephew". AL.com.
- ↑ Fornelli, Tom (October 7, 2016). "WATCH: Ole Miss' Chad Kelly storms field during brawl at brother's high school game". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
- ↑ "Ole Miss QB signee Chad Kelly reaches plea deal following arrest". CBSSports.com.