On Friday, Cole Kelley addressed the elephant in the room.

For the first time since the Arkansas quarterback was arrested for DWI shortly after the Razorbacks’ loss to LSU last November, Kelley spoke about the incident that spoiled the end of his redshirt freshman season.

“To be honest with you, I think it was a wake-up call for me,” Kelley said via 247sports. “You can make all the excuses in the world; I just messed up.”

It was shortly after Kelley, who got a chance to start 4 games in place of the injured Austin Allen during the middle of last season, returned to his backup role. Obviously the timing of the arrest wasn’t ideal.

Kelley showed remorse for the incident which earned him a one-game suspension.

“I’ve always felt so ashamed since that happened,” Kelley said via 247sports. “I wanted to release something and apologize to everybody, but my lawyer advised against it during the process. I’m so sorry to the Razorback nation.

“They have done nothing but love me since I stepped on campus. They are so special. It drives me to work every day just so I can prove myself to them and give them something they very well deserve.”

Fortunately for Kelley, he has a clean slate with a new coaching staff. He and Ty Storey are battling it out for the right to run Chad Morris’ fast-paced, high-powered offense.

And if Kelley can learn from his “wake-up call,” he’ll have a chance to end next season on a different note.