When Ole Miss upset Alabama in 2014, Chad Kelly wasn’t battling on the field or part of the mob of students that tore down the goal posts. Kelly was still the quarterback at East Mississippi Community College and had sat down in a Mexican restaurant with his family in Meridian.
(Photo by: Cameron Brooks)
“I remember going crazy in there,” Kelly said. “I wasn’t even committed expecting to go to Ole Miss then, but I was a fan of the Ole Miss football team, and the way they played that game then and finished the game was amazing.”
One year later, Kelly had won the starting quarterback job for the Rebels and was taking the field in Bryant-Denny Stadium to try and deliver an upset of his own. In the third quarter, Kelly chased after a high snap and wildly flung the ball toward Laquon Treadwell to avoid being sacked. The now-infamous pass would be tipped into the air and caught by Quincy Adeboyejo, who raced 66 yards to the end zone.
Kelly said his friends kept asking him why he decided to throw the ball instead of taking the sack.
“That’s part of who I am. I just try to make plays,” Kelly said. “Sometimes it might not go the way you like, but sometimes it does, and God is on my side.”
“One thing I’ll say is he knows he shouldn’t have done that, but in his thinking he knew that Laquon was there and that he’d have a chance to fight for it – and he knew Laquon would,” Head Coach Hugh Freeze said of the throw. “So, that’s Chad’s reasoning. That has a little merit. I’m not crazy about wildly doing that again, but you need a few breaks when you’re playing great teams … But I’d just as soon us not do that again.”
Alabama lost long-time Defensive Coordinator Kirby Smart after he took a head coaching job at Georgia, but somehow the Tide hasn’t missed a step and are a formidable defense once again.
“First, I think they recruit very well, as we all know,” Kelly said. “Every year in and out they have a great team. It starts with their coaches and goes all the way down to the players. Those players believe in the system. They always have. They have a great team. It really starts with the coaches.”
It may be hard to believe, but Alabama’s defense might be even better this year, allowing just 17 points total in their first two games.
“I think their speed and quickness is a lot faster than they’ve been,” Kelly said. “Those guys on the line all the way back to the safeties are really fast. They’re very disciplined, always in the right spot. That goes back to who their coach is. They get those guys ready.”
Though Kelly struggled in Orlando against Florida State, he remains confident in his ability.
“Besides those turnovers we were still in the game late in the fourth quarter,” Kelly said. “Yeah, sometimes I made a mistake trying to force it downfield and not take what the defense gives me. From that, you’ve got to just learn from it.”
Kelly hopes to learn from his performance against the Seminoles.
“Now, going onto another great team like Alabama, we really have to harp on protecting the ball, and that starts this week in practice. I really have to take what the defense gives me, and we should be good.”
With his final matchup against Alabama on Saturday, one thing stuck out to Kelly as the key to leaving the field victorious once again.
“I think it’s a mindset first,” Kelly said. “You have to go in there thinking you’re going to win.”
