Chad Kelly

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. As Jim Kelly had only one son of his own (Hunter Kelly), who died from congenital illness in childhood, Chad Kelly earned a reputation as Jim's heir apparent. Jim attempted to guide his nephew, but felt that Chad was not listening to his advice.

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. Kelly committed to Clemson University to play college football.

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.

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. 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 under head coach Hugh Freeze. In his first year at Ole Miss, Kelly was named the starting quarterback.

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 two touchdowns while adding 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 passes for 341 passing yards and 3 passing touchdowns. On November 7, 2015, Kelly accounted for 478 total yards and six touchdowns against Arkansas. Although he completed 24-of-34 passes for 368 passing yards and three passing touchdowns, Mississippi lost to Arkansas, 52–53, in overtime. The following week, he threw two touchdown passes and rushed for two touchdowns in a 38–17 victory over number 15 LSU. On January 1, 2016, he led Ole Miss to a 48–20 victory over number 16 Oklahoma State in the 2016 All-State Sugar Bowl. He won Sugar Bowl MVP Honors after accounting for 21 completions out of 33 passes for 302 passing yards, four touchdowns, and one 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 Rebels' quarterback in the Sugar Bowl.

Kelly 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 37–27 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. On February 16, 2017, the NFL rescinded an offer previously made to Kelly to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine.

Professional career

Kelly was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round, 253rd overall (Mr. Irrelevant), the last selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list after having offseason wrist surgery.

Personal life

Chad Kelly's uncle is Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly. His younger brother, Casey Kelly, also plays quarterback for St. Joseph's.

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 and resisted arrest. His plea deal resulted in criminal charges being dropped in favor of a guilty plea to disorderly conduct and was ordered to undergo 50 hours of community service.