Chad Kelly Ole Miss QB NCAA Football Odds Preview

Chad Kelly Ole Miss QB NCAA Football Odds Preview

Written by on October 7, 2015

College Football lines fans will be watching this play years from now on whatever YouTube becomes in the future. Ole Miss center Robert Conyers snaps the ball too high in the shotgun, and it caroms off quarterback Chad Kelly’s hands and goes about 15 feet up into the sky. Kelly grabs the ball with both hands, just as three Crimson Tide defenders are closing in on him.

Meet Chad Kelly Ole Miss QB and his NCAA Football Odds Preview

ICYMI: This play somehow ended in an @OleMissFB touchdown … seriously. WATCH: http://t.co/7aoCxL8A5n

— ESPN (@espn) September 20, 2015 He has about half a second to plant his feet, jump to find a receiver and then hurl a ball up into the air. The pass clanks off wide receiver Laquon Treadwell’s hands, smacks the helmet of Minkah Fitzpatrick, the Crimson Tide safety, and then lands in the hands of Quincy Adeboyejo, another receiver who gallops to the end zone for an unbelievable score of 66 yards. Here’s how it looked on ESPN’s Twitter feed: As Kelly would tell ESPN.com, “I just prayed it was going to work.” Kelly just transferred to Ole Miss from East Mississippi Community College. The nephew of NFL Hall of Fame signal-caller Jim Kelly, Chad Kelly has found a path through chaos all of his life. It took a ton of talent just to get that pass away with the pressure coming. It also took a lot of boldness, when most quarterbacks, and Kelly’s coach, would have chosen for him to take the sack instead. Finally, there’s that fortunate bounce, which is just Kelly’s latest bit of luck after almost sending his budding career down the toilet.

So Who is Chad Kelly

Many people view Kelly as that kid who Clemson kicked out for a variety of stunts, such as arguing with coaches about not going for first down when a fourth down came up…in a spring game. As SMU head coach (and former Clemson offensive coordinator) Chad Morris told ESPN.com, “Talent was never the issue. I think he had a great, fierce competitive drive. Sometimes your best asset can be your biggest enemy, too.” In his community college stop, Kelly threw for 3,906 yards in 12 games, tallying 47 touchdowns against just eight picks. He also ran for 446 yards and four touchdowns, leading EMCC to the NJCAA national championship. Even so, just a few days after he committed to Ole Miss, police in Buffalo, New York arrested him for fighting bouncers and resisting arrest. He pleaded guilty to non-criminal disorderly conduct and took 50 hours of community service.

It’s Time for Something New for Chad Kelly in Ole Miss

Coming to Ole Miss, Kelly had to accept that his new head coach, Hugh Freeze, would not have any time for confrontation. As Freeze told ESPN.com, “He doesn’t get the option to be right, and if he’s got a problem with that, he’s probably not my guy.” Kelly has accepted this and is now becoming one of the best quarterbacks in the country. As Kelly puts it, “I just try to throw it as hard as I can. I always thought in order to make it to the NFL, you had to make every throw on the field.” His right bicep features a tattoo that reads, “Fear Nobody.” So far, Kelly has lived up to that, and the Rebels are prospering as a result.