Chad Kelly awaits the snap.
After two games and a spring and summer full of speculation, there is finally a confirmed starter for Ole Miss at the quarterback position.
Junior transfer Chad Kelly has taken the reins of the offense as the first quarterback and performed extremely well, throwing for 557 yards and six touchdowns while completing 72.5 percent of his passes and rushing for 46 yards and two touchdowns over his first two games. Against Fresno State, Kelly became the first SEC quarterback since Johnny Manziel for Texas A&M to score five touchdowns in a single half.
Head coach Hugh Freeze said he’s been confident in Kelly’s ability as the quarterback for some time.
“He is the starter. (The job) is his to lose, and he certainly has done nothing to put himself out of it. So, he’s the starter,” Hugh Freeze said. “I expect that to continue.”
Kelly said he was pleased with his performance but still saw improvements that could be made.
“There were some things we could’ve done better; I could’ve made better reads out there,” Kelly said. “I thought we did good. Again, scoring 70 points is a great day.”
Kelly made sure to give credit to his teammates.
“Offensive line did a tremendous job. Wide receivers got open. Running backs ran hard,” Kelly said. “I’m just excited about next weekend.”
Kelly also acknowledged the coaches’ role in the offense’s success.
“The coaches are putting us in great situations, making great play calls,” Kelly said. “We just have to make sure we’re all on point every play.”
Junior wide receiver Quincy Adeboyejo was able to profit off of Kelly’s excellent performance, catching five passes for 120 yards and three touchdowns in the game.
“I feel like he did pretty good. The play calling was there, and everybody was executing. He threw some pretty good deep balls today,” Adeboyejo said of Kelly’s performance. “He hit a few guys in stride and as playmakers we were just out there making plays for him.”
Kelly liked the offense’s performance thus far in the season
“I think we’re doing good,” Kelly said. “We just have to make sure we’re hitting on all cylinders every play, and don’t take anything for granted.”
Coming to Ole Miss just last spring, Kelly had some catching up to do, learning the playbook and being able to run the offense at the perfect tempo. Kelly gave some insight into what he had to do to succeed in the Rebels offense.
“You have to know the offense,” Kelly said. “You have to know what the defense is doing every play, and you just have to trust your offensive line, trust your receivers, your running backs and just understand that the coaches are coaches for a reason.”
Kelly also talked about what he has to do personally to keep playing at such a high level.
“I just have to keep working in the film room, just making sure I’m making the right read every single play, because one play could decide the whole game,” Kelly said.
With Fresno State behind him, Kelly is ready to rise to the challenge against the second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa this Saturday night.
“I’m confident. I’m just ready for this next game,” Kelly said. “I know its going to be a good test. They’re a great team, and I’m excited about this opportunity, especially with some of the great players we have on this team.”
