THE MACHINE
night owl
Ole Miss commit Chad Kelly faces charges of third-degree assault, second-degree harassment, second-degree menacing and resisting arrest, among others, after being arrested early Sunday, according to Joseph Popiolkowski and Keith McShea of The Buffalo News.
The charges stem from a reported fight between Kelly and bouncers at a bar in downtown Buffalo, per The Buffalo News report:
Kelly, 20, of Niagara Falls, refused to leave Encore at 492 Pearl St. about 3:15 a.m. and punched a bouncer in the face, Buffalo police said. Kelly's companion, Brandon Hickey, 21, of Clarence, had been thrown out of the bar earlier and tried to re-enter, police said.
Kelly continued to fight with two bouncers and stated "I'm going to go to my car and get my AK-47 and spray this place," according to a report.
The report goes on to state that Kelly would not calm down once the police arrived:
Buffalo police officers responding to that alleged threat stopped a 2005 Ford F-150 pickup truck in which Kelly was a passenger at 458 Pearl.
Kelly was forcibly removed from the vehicle, officers said. Police said Kelly kicked and tried to swing at officers as they removed him from the vehicle. They said he resisted getting into a patrol vehicle and struggled with staff at central booking.
Kelly signed a letter of intent with the Rebels on Wednesday.
"We needed to create competition and depth at quarterback," head coach Hugh Freeze said, via the Ole Miss athletic site. "And we were able to do that with Chad Kelly."
USA TODAY's Dan Wolken also provided a quote Freeze gave The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi:
ESPN.com's Travis Haney said he believed Ole Miss should have done a better job in the recruiting process:
Kelly is the nephew of legendary Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly. According to 247Sports' composite rankings, he's the best dual-threat junior-college quarterback in the 2015 recruiting class. He was a 4-star QB coming out of high school in 2012 when he signed with Clemson.
Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney dismissed Kelly from the team in April after Kelly argued with the coaching staff during Clemson's spring game.
"He has had a pattern of behavior that is not consistent with the values of our program," Swinney said at the time, per ESPN.com's Andrea Adelson. "I hope he will mature and grow from this and become the man and player I know he can be. I wish him nothing but the best in the future academically and athletically."
It's currently unknown how this news will affect Kelly's status with Ole Miss.
Taken into custody....alive