Chad Kelly, the nephew of former Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, has already become one of Doug Marrone’s most high-profile targets in this years recruiting class. The Fizz spoke with Kelly’s coach at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute earlier this week about Kelly’s skills as a quarterback and his priorities in choosing a school.
- Listen to the FizzCast: More on landing Chad Kelly
The 6‚Äô3, 205 lbs. quarterback out of Buffalo has also caught the eye of national powers such as Alabama and Florida State. ¬†This puts the ‘Cuse in quite an intense recruiting battle, and coach Dennis Gilbert says there are three major things that will determine the winner:
‚ÄúFirst of all, what kind of education is he going to get. ¬†Also, a family atmosphere. ¬†He comes from a very close family and is going to be looking for that type of relationship within a program. And he wants to play. Yes, he has aspirations after college, but he‚Äôs a really competitive kid and it‚Äôs most important that he‚Äôll have a chance to step in and compete right away.”
This list of priorities should make the Orange feel good about its chances of landing the quarterback. Syracuse compares favorably academically to most BCS football schools. The Dougie is a Syracuse guy, and many have described his program as a family atmosphere. Plus, staying in upstate New York would afford Kelly a chance to stay closer to his actual family. And with SU’s unsettled future at quarterback he has a chance to compete for immediate playing time, or at least a better chance than you would expect a more powerful BCS program could offer.
As for the type of player these teams are chasing, Coach Gilbert says he’s a true dual-threat.
‚ÄúI‚Äôd have to say it‚Äôs a pretty even mix. He can drop back in the pocket, step up and throw it 70 yards, but he can also make plays with his legs, and can probably throw it just as well on the run.”
But it is neither his arm nor his legs that really sets him apart.
“His greatest strength as a quarterback is his competitiveness. Obviously, the skill set has to be good, and it is, but his competitiveness to me is the most impressive. He works as hard on Monday in practice as he does in the game, and really raises the level of his teammates, not just on game day, but all week long.”
And as for that famous uncle of his:
“I think it’s a double-edged sword. It can help, but at the same time it puts you in the spotlight at a pretty young age, which can be tough to deal with. But then again, who wouldn’t want to have a hall of fame uncle who can help you develop as a quarterback?”
It seems like the Orange can offer what Kelly is looking for, and he would certainly be Marrone’s biggest get in three-plus years, but there‚Äôs still a long way to go in the recruiting process. Kelly hopes to narrow down his list of schools to a top five or seven by the end of the school year.
Posted: Steve Neikam
13 responses to “Chad Kelly’s Coach Tells Fizz What His QB’s Priorities Are In Picking A School”
I would like to see Chad come to Syracuse to play football, but you have to remember that Syracuse already has 6 quarterbacks in house. If he cimes here what happenens to the others? Will they be asked to play other positions or will they transfer out? I too believe that Chad Kelly has a double edged sword pointed at him. He’s going to be damned if does and damned if doesn’t come to Syracuse to play. If he does come here I can see a Chad Kelly/Aston Boyhd combination at quaterback leading the Syracuse Team for the next 4 years.
If he comes here the fans will flock to the dome to watch the team play. I only hope that when he does come,that he realizes that we are family here and we will support the team and can he handle the pressure that the local community and fans will put on him?
Chad belongs at Syracuse, so bring him home coach, bring him home.
GO CUSE.
Ron, no coach has ever complained about having too many good quarterbacks. If Kelly is better than the QBs in house, then obviously you want to bring him in, and he would play. To answer your question, Broyld and Hunt probably both have the athleticism to switch positions if they were asked to do so. Of course it would be possible that one or two of those guys could look for playing time elsewhere, but if they did it would probably mean they weren’t going to get any burn here anyway. Either way, it’d be a great problem to have.
Reminds me of when McNabb and Kevin Johnson were fighting it out to see who the starting QB was going to be. McNabb wan the job, Johnson switched to WR and had an incrediable career at SU. KJ went on to the NFL (Browns) and had some great years there.
hey guys its being reported by Yahoo! and ESPN that Kelly trimmed his list to seven schools and will make his choice this summer. These schools are reportedly: Alabama, Buffalo, Clemson, Florida State, Michigan State, Purdue and SYRACUSE! His top choice is currently Michigan State.
would it be too much to ask the fizz to please not piss of his parents right before he makes his decision?
Matt – Yes, we are currently sending Chad’s parents Edible Arrangements gift baskets every week. I know you’re probably just joking, but for those without the background – Ishaq’s dad told us The Fizz didn’t influence that decision in any way – and even gave us props for one of the only places to do its proper homework and not just report wild speculation. They were even excited that we had covered Ishaq the whole way through recruitment and not just jumping on the bandwagon at the end.
Check it out here:
https://playdanewyork.com/2011/01/ishaq-williams-dad-says-fizz-will-not-affect-his-decision/
DA
One thing he won’t get at Syracuse is an opportunity to win. The football team is pathetic and has been for a while now.
I ain’t paying 29 dollars to view how this trick is performed. How in the H3LL do U do this card magic trick in this video? http://bit.ly/holely_card_magic_trick_video – If U figure it out please let me know. Thanks! 🙂
Thiiknng like that shows an expert at work
hey there and thank you for your info ‚Äì I’ve definitely picked up something new from right here.
I did however expertise several technical points using this website,
as I experienced to reload the site lots of times previous
to I could get it to load properly. I had been wondering if your web hosting is OK?
Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will
sometimes affect your placement in google and can damage your high-quality score if advertising
and marketing with Adwords. Anyway I am adding this RSS to my e-mail
and can look out for much more of your respective interesting content.
Make sure you update this again soon.
Howdy! I know this is kinda off topic nevertheless
I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in trading
links or maybe guest authoring a blog post or vice-versa?
My blog discusses a lot of the same topics as yours
and I think we could greatly benefit from each other.
If you’re interested feel free to send me an e-mail. I look forward to
hearing from you! Fantastic blog by the way!
Useful info. Fortunate me I found your website by
accident, and I’m surprised why this accident did
not took place earlier! I bookmarked it.
I just could not depart your web site before suggesting that
I extremely loved the usual information an individual supply in your guests?
Is going to be back often in order to inspect new posts