Former Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly can’t run for scouts yet, but he is taking steps this week at the Senior Bowl.
Not only is the nephew of Hall of Famer Jim Kelly updating teams on the status of his surgically repaired knee, but he’s also getting out in front of the off-field issues he knows teams want to hear about.
Via Creg Stephenson of AL.com, Kelly is meeting with teams this week, and trying to be up front about the issues unrelated to the playing of football.
“They’re thinking they’re going to be taking a chance on me for sure,” Kelly said. “I’ve made stupid mistakes in the past, I can’t deny that. With that being said, I’ve learned from it. I’m not the same person I was a long time ago. All I can do is keep looking forward and make the right decisions, lead my team the best way I can on and off the field.”
About those stupid mistakes. Have a seat, this will take a second.
Kelly was thrown off the team at Clemson after a squabble with coaches in 2014. After spending a year in junior college and landing at Ole Miss, there was more.
He was arrested outside a Buffalo bar after threatening to “get my AK-47 and spray this place” after he was thrown out. He pleaded down to a misdemeanor for that one. He also had to be escorted off the field when a brawl broke out at his brother’s high school game.
“You’ve got to make sure you’re saying the right thing to every team, because they all speak to each other,” Kelly said. “You’ve got to be honest, of course. You’ve got to admit to what you did, and try to convince them that those mistakes, you’re not going to be making them again. The owner doesn’t want to hear about it, the G.M. doesn’t want to hear what you did, they want to know if you’ve learned from it, that you won’t make the same mistake twice.”
With all that stuff, the fact teams are still interested in him speaks to his talent. He’s probably going to fall in the draft largely because of the torn ACL in November that will keep him off the field for his rookie offseason program, but teams are still intrigued by his skills.