The Ole Miss Rebels announced Sunday that quarterback Chad Kelly will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn ACL and lateral meniscus in his team’s 37-27 win over the Georgia Southern Eagles on Saturday, according to the Associated Press’ Ralph D. Russo.
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Kelly to Undergo Season-Ending Surgery
Sunday, Nov. 6
Jason Pellerin will likely assume starting quarterback duties for the Rebels’ last three games of the regular season.
While the 2016 season hasn’t gone according to plan for the 4-5 Rebels, they could still earn a bowl bid with two more wins. Ole Miss will finish the year against Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, so securing bowl-eligibility won’t be easy, especially with Kelly out of action.
Pellerin, a redshirt freshman, has appeared in five games, going 5-of-13 for 53 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
The silver lining for head coach Hugh Freeze is that he’ll have a better idea of whether Pellerin can be the quarterback of the future. The Rebels will be adding Alex Faniel, the No. 73-ranked quarterback in the 2017 recruiting class, per Scout, and Pellerin could gain an early edge if he finishes 2016 strong.
Kelly’s mindset will shift to NFL draft preparation.
The MMQB’s Emily Kaplan noted the senior signal-caller has a number of off-field concerns that cloud his potential at the next level. In October, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller ranked Kelly as the No. 8 quarterback in the 2017 draft class but considered him the “biggest question mark” at the position.
A major knee injury is the last thing Kelly needs as he looks to make the leap to the NFL.
