Ole Miss gambles that QB Chad Kelly can take control

It’s never been a question of talent. Six-foot-two, 215-pound dual-threat quarterbacks don’t come along every day.

But playing QB comes with a caveat – it’s not what you do with the ball in hand, it’s what you do when things go badly. Jim Kelly kept his composure when he lost four straight Super Bowls, so his nephew should know all about how to keep his feelings to himself.

Chad Kelly’s problems with that have always been mentioned in a breath after one lauding his immense skills.

“We talk every day about that,” Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said at SEC Media Days. “We did that before signing him, and we continued that process, that journey of helping him re-write his story.”

Kelly is on his second chance after a series of missteps led to washing out at Clemson. His bullishness cost him his first chance and led him to junior college, then Ole Miss.

He enters 2015 as perhaps the most talented QB on the roster, but behind Ryan Buchanan and DeVante Kincade in experience. Still, throwing for nearly 4,000 yards and rushing for 446 while winning a national championship at East Mississippi Community College last year – and running nearly the same offense as Freeze’s – has many thinking he’ll soon take over.

Will that be the final step in his resurrection? It’s a question as valuable as his arm.

“Coming into ’14, I thought there was a really good shot because he was that dual-threat QB that this offense needs to perform at peak level,” said Larry Williams, longtime Clemson beat writer at TigerIllustrated.com. “There was a lot of hope going into that spring that Kelly was going to be the guy, because (Cole) Stoudt was more of a drop-back pocket passer. Kelly had wheels and a really good arm.”

A Twitter war with Stoudt before he enrolled cast the first stone – “He didn’t really endear himself right off the bat,” Williams said – and Kelly was quiet after he redshirted in 2012, then tore an ACL in the 2013 spring game. He rapidly recovered and played in five games in 2013, setting up a battle for 2014.

Then came the spring game.

Kelly threw two interceptions in the first half but was leading a drive in the second. On fourth-and-short, Kelly wanted to go for it. The Tigers sent out the punting unit.

Kelly began ending his Clemson career.

“He flipped out, just totally flipped out,” Williams said. “He got dressed down by a few coaches, and they benched him.”

As Williams pointed out, it was a scrimmage in front of 20,000 fans at home. If Kelly couldn’t handle himself there, how could he do it in front of 90,000 at the season-opener at Georgia?

“He just couldn’t control himself,” Williams said. “Your body language, after you make a mistake, it’s so crucial for a quarterback to not only avoid losing his mind like that, but to avoid showing any sign of hanging his head or being even remotely selfish.”

Two days later, Kelly met with Dabo Swinney and offensive coordinator Chad Morris. The exact details are unknown, but Swinney and Morris apparently told Kelly he was going to be punished, and Kelly blew up. That was the final straw.

Swinney dismissed Kelly. Kelly went to East Mississippi, won a title, committed to Ole Miss and that was thought to be his redemption.

A week later, he was in jail after a restaurant altercation in Buffalo, N.Y., Kelly allegedly assaulted a bouncer and threatened to get an assault rifle to “spray this place.”

Freeze honored Kelly’s scholarship after multiple charges were reduced to disorderly conduct, with punishment of 50 hours of community service and drug/alcohol evaluation. Kelly finished his service and enrolled at Ole Miss, and has had a clean record since.

“Off the field, he’s on the field. Any free time he has, he’s in the (practice facility) getting better, focusing on his craft,” tight end Evan Engram said. “He’s making good decisions, staying out of trouble, staying away from possible things that could land him in trouble.”

The first chapters were muddy. Kelly is trying to keep his future pristine.

“He’s determined that he wants it to have a different ending,” Freeze said. “And I’ve been very pleased thus far with the way he’s gone about his business.”

This story was originally published July 31, 2015 at 10:33 PM.