Jim Kelly's nephew, QB Chad Kelly, chooses Clemson

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Clemson is landing a Kelly at quarterback.

Chad Kelly, nephew of Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly and a highly recruited high school prospect, has committed to play for the Tigers. He announced the decision Thursday, a day after visiting with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and his staff in South Carolina.

"This feels great. I never thought it would feel like this," Kelly said after he teared up several times before announcing his decision by pulling on a Tigers cap during a news conference.

Kelly led Buffalo's St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute to a New York State Catholic School title as a junior last season.

And like his uncle, who starred for the Buffalo Bills, Kelly has great size - he's listed at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds. He has also proven to be a dual threat as both a passer and runner. He finished with 2,159 passing yards and 24 touchdowns with eight interceptions. He also had 1,057 rushing yards and 15 more scores.

Add in seven 2-point conversions and Kelly's 248 points last year accounted for more than 60 percent of his team's total (406).

Kelly made a name for himself in becoming the first to win the NFL-sponsored "Punt, Pass and Kick" competition in four age groups.

Clemson declined comment as it is against NCAA rules to do so until Kelly formally signs a letter of intent.

Kelly said he enjoyed "the family atmosphere" at Clemson during his visit in selecting the Tigers over Alabama, Florida State, Michigan State and Purdue. In meeting Swinney and new offensive coordinator Chad Morris, Kelly said the door was left open as to whether he'd have a chance to play as a freshman in 2012. The Tigers are coming off a 6-7 season with Tajh Boyd expected to take over the starting duties after Kyle Parker elected to pursue baseball.

Kelly has already made initial plans to work out with former Clemson star running back, C.J. Spiller, who was the Bills first-round draft pick last year.

Jim Kelly was out of town and unable to attend the news conference. Earlier this month, he had expressed excitement about his nephew's pending decision even while knowing Miami, his alma mater, was out of the running.

Chad Kelly appreciates the responsibilities that come with carrying the Kelly name.

But he was keen on blazing his own trail.

"Yeah, he's my uncle and a lot of people think that, 'Oh, just because of your name, you get that extra thing,' but it really isn't," Kelly said. "I want to be my own person. I want to make a name for myself instead of having the name attached to me."

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Aiken takes familiar path to Clemson

Posted on: June 26, 2011 7:58 pmPosted by Bryan Fischer

In case you haven't noticed, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney can recruit. While the coach has been placed on the hot seat by some, that hasn't affected him on the recruiting trail as he reeled in another top recruit on Sunday in Bamberg (S.C.) defensive end Martin Aiken.

"I told (Swinney) I was going to try to hold onto it until I was absolutely positive and could announce it to everybody," Aiken told Clemson247.com about a conversation after Clemson's camp last week. "He smiled, looked at me and said if I hadn’t told him that right then, he’d have been jumping up and down and hugging me because he’s wanted me for a long time. So he told me to take my time and if anything changed, let him know."

The 6-foot-3, 250-pounder selected the school over South Carolina and Georgia Tech and held offers from schools such as Auburn, USC and Tennessee. He got to talk with former Clemson and Bamberg-Ehrhardt High defensive linemen Da'Quan Bowers and Ricky Sapp about the program before making his own decision.

"I know a lot of people think they probably pushed me there, but those guys didn’t," Aiken told the site. "It was more like they thought I was really considering going somewhere else. We hung out at camp, and they were like, 'Wow, you’ve got a lot of offers. How you feel about Clemson.' I told them, and when I told them, they were surprised because I had all these big offers. They told me they weren’t going to try to influence me, but encouraged me to go wherever fit me best. Just make your own decision. Those are good guys, they really helped me out."

Clemson now has 12 commits in their class of 2012 after Aiken's pledge. He had a monster season as a junior last year, racking up 12 sacks and over 100 tackles as a defensive end.

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Clemson Non-Conference Schedule Rated 10 by Sporting News

June 20, 2011

CLEMSON, SC - Clemson will play the 10th most challenging non-conference schedule in the nation according to the Sporting News. Three of Clemson's four non-conference games will be against teams that played in bowl games last year and all four of the non-conference foes won at least eight games in 2010.

Ten of Clemson's 11 FBS opponents went to bowl games last year, including six who won at least nine games in 2010. Additionally, Wofford, Clemson's FBS opponent, was 10-3 and reached the second round of the NCAA playoffs.

Clemson's three FBS non-conference opponents had a combined 31-10 record last year, a .756 winning percentage. That list includes defending National Champion Auburn, who comes to Clemson on September 17. Troy (8-5) and South Carolina (9-5) also had outstanding seasons in 2010.

Miami (FL) (fourth), Florida State (6th) and Clemson (10th) were the three ACC teams in Sporting News top 10 for toughest non-conference schedules in the nation. Overall, Clemson's 12 opponents in 2011 had a 104-55 record last year, a .654 winning percentage. Each of Clemson's first five opponents won at least eight games, including four in a row who won at least 10 games.

Clemson has a stretch of consecutive games against Auburn (14-0), Florida State (10-4) and Virginia Tech (11-3) between September 24 and October 1 that will be one of the most challenging stretches in school history. All three of those teams played for their respective conference championships last year. Clemson plays all four schools that played for the ACC and SEC championships last year.

Clemson will open the season September 3 against Troy, the first meeting on the gridiron between the two schools. Troy finished with an 8-5 record last year and ranked 11th in the nation in passing offense, 17th in total offense and fifth in quarterback sacks.

Clemson's second game will be played on September 10 when Wofford from nearby Spartanburg, SC comes to Clemson. It will be the first meeting between the Tigers and the Terriers since 2001 and just the second meeting since 1981. Wofford had a 10-3 season in 2010 when they led the all FCS schools in rushing yards per game.

Auburn, the defending national champion, comes to Clemson on September 17. The Auburn Tigers had a 14-0 record last year, including a 27-24 win over Clemson in overtime. Clemson was the only team to take Auburn to overtime last year.

Auburn's appearance will mark the first time the defending national champion has come to Clemson since 1991 when Georgia Tech played at Clemson after having won the title according to the Coach's poll in 1990. The only year an opponent came to Clemson as the defending national champion was 1981 when Georgia played at Clemson after winning the 1980 title.

Clemson opens its ACC schedule against Florida State on September 24 at Memorial Stadium. The two schools played a thrilling game last year that was decided on a 55-yard field goal on the last play of the game, giving the Seminoles a 16-13 victory. Clemson has not lost to Florida State in Memorial Stadium in 10 years. Florida State won the ACC's Atlantic Division title last year and finished with a Chick-fil-A Bowl victory over South Carolina.

Defending ACC champion Virginia Tech will be Clemson's first road game on October 1. It will be the first meeting between the Tigers and the Hokies since the two schools played at Clemson in 2007. Virginia Tech finished with an 11-3 mark last year and has won the ACC title three of the last four years.

Boston College comes to Clemson on October 8 for the annual battle for the O'Rourke-McFadden Trophy. Seven of the last eight meetings between these two schools have been decided by a touchdown or less.

Clemson will travel to Maryland on October 15 to face Randy Edsall's Terps. The two schools have met every year since 1952 and the Tigers have a 30-27-2 lead in the competitive series. Clemson defeated a nine-win Maryland team last year at Clemson, 31-7.

North Carolina will come to Clemson on October 22 for its last appearance in Death Valley until the 2016 season. The Tar Heels are coming off an eight-win season that concluded with a bowl victory over Tennessee. Clemson will celebrate the 30-year anniversary of its 1981 National Championship that day.

The Tigers travel to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech on October 29. Tech led the nation in rushing offense last year, meaning Clemson's defense will face the top programs in college football at the FBS and FCS level in rushing. Clemson and Georgia Tech played for the 2009 ACC championship.

After an open date, Clemson will play host to Wake Forest on November 12. It will be Senior Day at Clemson.

The last two games are on the road. Clemson travels to NC State for its final league game on November 19. The Tigers have beaten NC State seven straight years, the Tigers longest streak in the history of the series. Clemson finishes its regular season at South Carolina on November 26. Clemson has won nine of the last 11 meetings in the series in Columbia. The state rivals have played every year since 1909.

Sporting News Top 10 Non Conference Schedules for 2011
1. LSU: vs. Oregon (Dallas), Northwestern State, at West Virginia, Western Kentucky
2. Pittsburgh: Buffalo, Maine, at Iowa, Notre Dame, Utah
3. Colorado: at Hawaii, California, Colorado State (Denver), at Ohio State
4. Miami (FL): Ohio State, Kansas State, Bethune-Cookman, at South Florida
5. Ohio State: Akron, Toledo, at Miami, Colorado
6. Florida State: Louisiana-Monroe, Charleston Southern, Oklahoma, at Florida
7. Georgia: vs. Boise State (Atlanta), Coastal Carolina, New Mexico State, at Georgia Tech
8. UCLA: at Houston, San Jose State, Texas
9. USC: Minnesota, Syracuse, at Notre Dame
10. Clemson: Troy, Wofford, Auburn, at South Carolina

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Vote for Clemson in Quarterfinals of NCAA Football Gameday Traditions Contest

June 22, 2011

Vote Now on ESPN.com/SportsNation

Howard's Rock has advanced to the quarterfinal round of EA's NCAA Football 12 Gameday Traditions Fan Voting Contest, after defeating USC's Tommy Trojan & Traveler in the first round. Clemson's tradition is now up against Michigan's Go Blue Banner. Voting for the quarterfinal round will conclude on Tuesday, June 28 at 12:00 PM, and the winners will be announced that afternoon on SportsNation, which will air on ESPN2 at 4:00 PM.

ABOUT THE CONTEST
The top 16 traditions are now battling it out in a weekly, tournament-style showdown, with voting continuing through July 12. Every Tuesday, ESPN's "SportsNation" will announce which traditions have advanced in bracket competition, with the winning tradition to be unveiled live on the show on Tuesday, July 12 - NCAA Football 12's launch day.

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