HOOVER, Ala. -- Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly's ongoing battle with cancer took a positive turn a week ago when preliminary results of a biopsy on the former Buffalo Bills star showed no sign of the disease.
And for Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly, it was the best of outcomes for a very special mentor.
"He inspires me to be great, and to lead and to be a player that never gives up," Kelly said at SEC Media Days on Thursday. "He's my uncle, and he's another extension of me. I'm thankful that I have an uncle like that who can help me on the field and off the field. (We talk) almost every day."
Jim Kelly, after all, has never let cancer interfere with his support of the SEC's top returning quarterback. Watch a big Ole Miss game on television, and there's a good chance the camera will find Jim Kelly somewhere in the stadium wearing Ole Miss gear. And if he can't be there in person, you can bet his TV is tuned to a Rebels game on autumn Saturdays.
Chad Kelly is one of the top quarterbacks in the college game, and as a senior he'll be heavily scouted this fall as a 2017 draft prospect. He passed for more than 4,000 yards last season and has all the physical tools scouts look for. Rebels coach Hugh Freeze said it's the mental aspect of the pro game that will be Kelly's biggest challenge. Kelly doesn't want his father Kevin's influence to be lost in his relationship with a famous uncle, however.
"My dad was the one, since I was eight years old, who was going out to a park for me every single day, never missing a day. Whether it was 8 at night, or 8 in the morning, he was always there just trying to help me get better," Kelly said.
As family resources go, however, it doesn't get much better than having a five-time Pro Bowler just a phone call away.
"I ran his offense in high school, so we were able to relate from a young age," Chad said. "We ran the same plays, the same terminology."
Here are nine more things we learned from SEC Media Days this week:
Most bizarre*moment*: No, it wasn't the wildest moment ever at SEC Media Days. That distinction -- the time then-Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer got served with a subpoena for a defamation suit against the NCAA brought by an Alabama booster -- will probably go forever unchallenged. Still, the exchange between Alabama coach Nick Saban and SEC Network provocateur Paul Finebaum on Wednesday was plenty buzzworthy.
The on-air discussion about why Saban declined to suspend star left tackle Cam Robinson for an arrest on drug and weapons charges got a little terse, but nothing too explosive. Reportedly, however, things got more heated when SECN went to commercial. Then the saga took another nutty twist when Finebaum alleged Saban told him off-air that the Monroe, La., police officers who arrested Robinson and teammate Laurence Jones were LSU fans. On the heels of that, Monroe (La.) public information officer Chris Bates offered a retort, per The Shreveport Times.
"I can tell you for a fact that the first officer on the scene is not an LSU fan," Bates said. "He hates LSU. He doesn't like the color yellow or purple and gold. In fact, he's a Florida fan. If you mention LSU around him, he throws up in his mouth."
Only in the SEC.
Biggest draft-related news: Saban is pushing for a workout similar to the NFL Scouting Combine held for underclassmen on college campuses, probably in the spring. But it's not just hollow talk from one side of the table. A meeting with the NFL has been scheduled, and the NFL is "very much interested," Saban said.
Most quotable player: Definitely Charles Harris of Missouri, who toed the line between confident and brash in discussing what could be his final season at the college level. He also spoke recently with 2016 San Francisco 49ers fifth-round draft pick John Theus, an offensive tackle he faced last year when Georgia beat the Tigers, 9-6. Harris made nine stops and recorded a sack in the game.
"He gave me credit and said I was one of the best pass rushers he went up against, which is true," Harris said.
Confidence, indeed.
Biggest expectations: Texas A&M star DE Myles Garrett is aiming to be the first FBS player to amass 20 sacks in a season since Elvis Dumervil did it at Louisville in 2005. And -- oh yeah -- being the No. 1 pick of the NFL draft is on the junior's mind, as well.
Best answer: Being regarded as one of the nation's top linebackers hasn't gone to Jarrad Davis' head. In fact, the Florida linebacker said he agreed with a critique by NFL Media analyst Lance Zierlein about how he can improve. And vowed to do it.
Worst answer: In fielding questions about incoming freshman Jeffery Simmons, who was allowed to enroll and drew just a one-game suspension after being captured on video repeatedly striking a woman, Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen managed to make a bad situation look worse.
Most unlikely draft path: If LSU star running back Leonard Fournette decides to enter the 2017 NFL Draft as an underclassman, he just might remain enrolled at LSU next spring rather than withdraw to train full-time for the NFL Scouting Combine. It would be a highly unusual move for a top-notch prospect.
Most encouraging injury news: Georgia star running back Nick Chubb, recovering from a severe knee injury suffered against Tennessee last year, is medically cleared for everything except full, live contact to begin fall camp, according to new UGA coach Kirby Smart.
Boldest comparison: Florida CB Jalen Tabor is every bit as good as the No. 11 pick of the 2016 NFL Draft, former Gators CB Vernon Hargreaves, if you listen to UF safety Marcus Maye. Tabor, a junior this fall, doesn't disagree.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
