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http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/10/26/nfl-draft-2017-chad-kelly-ole-miss-quarterback-red-flags-field
OXFORD, Miss. — Chad Kelly grips the podium as he stares down two dozen journalists. The Ole Miss quarterback is about to undergo an exercise that will become very familiar over the next six months: He is going to explain his actions to a room full of strangers.
Today, it’s the media. Soon, it will be NFL teams trying to get a better read on one of the 2017 draft’s most polarizing prospects. Everything he does on the field is ripe for scrutiny; he is at times electrifying and at times infuriating. Everything he does off the field is fodder for the 24/7 college football news cycle.
On this Monday in early October, Kelly is doing damage control. Three days earlier, during the Rebels’ bye week, he had attended younger brother Casey’s high school game in Buffalo. Casey, a quarterback at St. Joseph’s Collegiate (also Chad’s alma mater), took a late hit out of bounds. Players traded shoves. Chad bolted from the stands and ran onto the field. The scuffle swelled. The game was suspended. The headlines all weekend: “Chad Kelly involved in high school football brawl.”
Now he will speak publicly about it for the first time since. It’s nearly 75 degrees outside, but Kelly wears black suede boots (they are Yeezy’s), grey jeans with ripped detailing at the knees (he designed them himself) and a red Ole Miss polo.
“Well, first, that’s a bad decision on my part that I made,” he says. “If I could have done it differently, I would have. I obviously wouldn’t have run out on the field, of course. I regret doing it. But at the same time, I’m sure any of us, if we saw a family member out there who needed help, we would have come to the rescue too. But looking forward to the next game, we have to keep working hard and make the right decisions.”
Kelly speaks for another five minutes. By the time he exits, headlines have moved on to his apology.
OXFORD, Miss. — Chad Kelly grips the podium as he stares down two dozen journalists. The Ole Miss quarterback is about to undergo an exercise that will become very familiar over the next six months: He is going to explain his actions to a room full of strangers.
Today, it’s the media. Soon, it will be NFL teams trying to get a better read on one of the 2017 draft’s most polarizing prospects. Everything he does on the field is ripe for scrutiny; he is at times electrifying and at times infuriating. Everything he does off the field is fodder for the 24/7 college football news cycle.
On this Monday in early October, Kelly is doing damage control. Three days earlier, during the Rebels’ bye week, he had attended younger brother Casey’s high school game in Buffalo. Casey, a quarterback at St. Joseph’s Collegiate (also Chad’s alma mater), took a late hit out of bounds. Players traded shoves. Chad bolted from the stands and ran onto the field. The scuffle swelled. The game was suspended. The headlines all weekend: “Chad Kelly involved in high school football brawl.”
Now he will speak publicly about it for the first time since. It’s nearly 75 degrees outside, but Kelly wears black suede boots (they are Yeezy’s), grey jeans with ripped detailing at the knees (he designed them himself) and a red Ole Miss polo.
“Well, first, that’s a bad decision on my part that I made,” he says. “If I could have done it differently, I would have. I obviously wouldn’t have run out on the field, of course. I regret doing it. But at the same time, I’m sure any of us, if we saw a family member out there who needed help, we would have come to the rescue too. But looking forward to the next game, we have to keep working hard and make the right decisions.”
Kelly speaks for another five minutes. By the time he exits, headlines have moved on to his apology.
