Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly expressed regret Monday about running onto a high school football field during a brawl at his younger brother Casey's game in Buffalo, N.Y., on Friday night.
The mother of the Kelly brothers said, per ESPN, that the brawl began after a late hit on Casey Kelly, who plays quarterback.
"That's a bad decision on my part that I made. If I could've done it differently, I definitely would have. I obviously wouldn't have run out on the field. I regret doing it," Chad Kelly said. "But at the same time, I'm sure if any of us if we saw a family member out there in need of help, we would have come to the rescue, too."
Kelly, a senior, is one of the top quarterback prospects for the 2017 NFL Draft and the nephew of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Kelly. His character, however, will be a topic he'll have to deal with in interviews with NFL clubs next spring. Kelly was dismissed from Clemson for disciplinary reasons, and was arrested outside a Buffalo bar nearly two years ago after allegedly issuing threats and being combative with police.
While Kelly's past issues could collectively be an issue for NFL clubs evaluating him, the Friday incident by itself might not be, according to NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah.
"He will be asked about the incident by NFL teams when they meet with him leading up to the draft. In my opinion, this particular situation won't have a major impact on his draft status," Jeremiah said.
Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze acknowledged that Kelly's image is in need of some repair Monday.
"[Kelly] was very apologetic that it brought a bad light on him and our program," Freeze said, per ESPN. "But I think the events that happened could have happened to a lot of us. He knows he cannot continue to do that in his brand change. But that's it. It's over."
Kelly has completed 115 of 174 passes (66 percent) for 1,596 yards for the Rebels, with 13 touchdown passes and four interceptions.
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