OLE MISS

Ole Miss looking into arrest of QB recruit Kelly

Hugh Kellenberger
Clarion Ledger

OXFORD -- Ole Miss' new quarterback may not even make it to campus after serious charges emerged Sunday.

Chad Kelly, the East Mississippi product who signed with the Rebels last week, is being accused of punching a bouncer, threatening to shoot gunfire into a bar, and kicking and swinging while police officers tried to remove him from a vehicle.

The incident allegedly happened in Kelly's hometown of Buffalo, New York, early Sunday morning. He is facing seven different charges.

The Buffalo News first reported the charges, and it appeared to be news to the Ole Miss coaching staff as it was to everyone else.

"We are gathering facts on the matter," Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said in a statement.

Kelly is accused of punching a bouncer at a local Buffalo club when being told to exit the building at 3:15 a.m. Sunday. He allegedly continued to fight with the bouncers and said, "I'm going to go to my car and get my AK-47 and spray this place," according to a report obtained by The Buffalo News.

Responding to that threat, Buffalo police offers stopped the 2005 Ford-150 in which Kelly was a passenger. He was not compliant, kicking and swinging at the officers as they removed him from the truck, the report said. The Buffalo News also reported that Kelly resisted being placed in a squad car and continued to be difficult at central booking.

Kelly faces charges including third-degree assault, second-degree harassment, second-degree menacing, resisting arrest, fourth-degree criminal mischief, third-degree criminal trespass and second-degree obstructing governmental administration, according to The Buffalo News. Kelly was arraigned and released without bail.

Both bouncers sustained minor injuries. All of Kelly's charges are either misdemeanors or violations, but the sum total of the accusations may make Kelly too risky for Ole Miss.

Freeze took a chance signing Kelly, who was dismissed from Clemson in the spring after arguing with coaches on the sideline of the spring game. Kelly went to East Mississippi and put up record numbers, leading the school to its third national championship in the last four years.

But big programs were shy in recruiting Kelly. Before Ole Miss offered him earlier this month, Kelly was expected to decide between Virginia Tech and Indiana.

Ole Miss is losing Bo Wallace after Dec. 31's Peach Bowl, and both backups (Ryan Buchanan and DeVante Kincade) looked overmatched in a Nov. 22 loss to Arkansas. It was after that game that Ole Miss' recruitment of Kelly began to gain heat.

"I did my home visit with he and his family after the championship game and was convinced he was the guy we wanted to go on," Freeze said on Wednesday, the day Kelly signed with Ole Miss.

Freeze has been willing to give second chances to talented players in the past, but has not kept anyone with charges near this level.

Kelly is the nephew of former Buffalo Bills star quarterback Jim Kelly. The top-ranked junior college quarterback in the country, Kelly threw for 3,905 yards and 47 touchdowns for East Mississippi, which won the NJCAA national title on Dec. 6.

Chad Kelly