While playing at Clemson, there was no questioning the fact Chad Kelly had an NFL arm. He had the strength, the accuracy and the touch.

The trouble came about a foot above that cannon he possesses.

Kelly’s attitude and off-the-field troubles led to his dismissal from Clemson. The last straw at the ACC school was an argument with coaches during the spring game. The nephew of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Kelly found himself in tiny Scooba, Miss., as the quarterback at East Mississippi Community College.

He led EMCC to a JUCO national championship and earned All-American status. When it was time for the major colleges to come courting, some hesitated. One in particular did not waiver as Kelly signed with Ole Miss, despite the fact Rebel coach Hugh Freeze knew he would have to keep his new player’s head on straight.

“I assure you I am trying to keep him grounded; I do think that Chad is very grounded right now,” Freeze said at his weekly press conference as the Rebels prepare to take on No. 2 Alabama Saturday. “Chad has been called a ticking time bomb three or four times. I want to ask those guys if they have kids when I hear this. You know, he might be a ticking time bomb, but thus far he has not been.

“Chad seems to be really, really grounded. He is extremely hungry to be coached and do well. So, yes, it is always a concern of mine but so far I am confident he has his head in the right place.”

The folks in Oxford could not be happier thus far.

The 15th-ranked Rebels became the only team in SEC history this month to score 70 or more points in back-to-back games. Tennessee-Martin went down in the season opener, 76-3 and last week, Ole Miss cruised to a 73-21 win over Fresno State.

Kelly has been a cool customer under center, efficiently averaging 278.5 yard a game through the air. He has thrown six touchdowns — although he has rarely seen the field after halftime — three of those scores came last week to Quincy Adeboyejo.

“His deep balls are one of the better balls I’ve ever encountered from high school and since I’ve been here,” Adeboyjo said. “He just has really good touch on his deep balls.”

The duo had scores from 16, 50 and 44 yards. Kelly had a fourth touchdown pass, a 14-yarder to Cody Core to start the Ole Miss rout.

Kelly has also run for a pair of scores.

With the tune-up games in the rear-view mirror and Alabama looming, the nation is looking to see how the Rebels will react. Ole Miss will again be without star left tackle Laremy Tunsil who is being held out during an NCAA investigation, and Tee Shepard will miss the first half after being ejected in the third quarter last week for targeting a Fresno State receiver.

The absence of those two players are at least known. What most are wondering is how Kelly will approach his first true test in an Ole Miss uniform.

“I don’t think there’s anything different,” Kelly said. “I just need to keep working to make sure I’m making the right move on every single play, because one play can decide the whole game.”