OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi quarterback Chad Kelly will miss the rest of the season after tearing the ACL and lateral meniscus in his right knee.
The 6-foot-2 senior was hurt Saturday in the Rebels' victory over Georgia Southern. The school announced the injury following Kelly's MRI on Sunday, and said he would have surgery this week.
Kelly has thrown for a Southeastern Conference-leading 2,758 yards, 19 touchdown and eight interceptions this season. He threw for more than 4,000 yards as a junior and led Ole Miss to a Sugar Bowl win over Oklahoma State.
Ole Miss hasn't had nearly as much success this season. The Rebels have a 4-5 record and will now likely turn to redshirt freshman Jason Pellerin as they try to become bowl eligible. True freshman Shea Patterson — who was one of last year's top quarterback recruits — is also an option, though the Rebels were trying to redshirt him this season.
Kelly is the nephew of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, who starred for the Buffalo Bills. The younger Kelly finished his Ole Miss career with 6,800 career yards passing despite playing just 22 career games, which ranks third in school history behind Eli Manning and Bo Wallace.
Kelly's college career started at Clemson, but he was kicked out of the program in 2014 for conduct detrimental to the team. He played one season at East Mississippi Community College before transferring to Ole Miss.