Ole Miss in the Pros: Chad Kelly begins Grey Cup defense with strong opening performance
Chad Kelly might be getting the ‘Swag Kelly’ moniker back in full swing this summer after his performance in the Toronto Argonauts opening game of the 2023 season, but he was not the only former Ole Miss player to shine on Sunday.
The Argonauts began their defense of the 2022 Grey Cup this weekend after winning the Canadian Football League championship last November. Kelly was a strong part of it, taking his first reps as a starting quarterback for the since wearing an Ole Miss uniform seven years ago.
Kelly finished the game with over 200 yards passing but his biggest contribution to the Argonaut’s 32-14 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats were his three touchdowns on the ground. The former Ole Miss signal caller rushed for 28 yards and the three scores on five carries, finishing as the Argonauts second-best rusher.
“It feels good. I’ve got to, obviously, slow it down a little bit more,” Kelly told reporters after the game. “First game, trying to find out the rhythm that our (head) coach (Ryan Dinwiddle), our (defense) likes to go. Some of the plays that he likes and what he wants to do. I didn’t really take many gimmies tonight. I got to see the field a lot better.”
Through the air Kelly completed 14 of 23 pass attempts (60.8 percent) for 213 yards and zero interceptions.
This is Kelly’s team as he got the nod as the Argonaut’s starting quarterback following the departure of McLeod Bethel-Thompson to the USFL as the New Orleans Breakers quarterback this spring.
An opportunity Kelly has been waiting for since leaving Ole Miss is finally his again. Stints in the NFL did not go Kelly’s way, for on and off-the-field reasons, but the CFL is giving him what he has wanted.
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Toronto’s next game is on Sunday traveling to the Edmonton Elks.
On the diamond Lance Lynn joined Kelly as former Ole Miss players who turned back the clock.
Setting a new career record Lynn struck out 16 Seattle Mariner batters on Sunday. He broke his previous career record of 12 strikeouts in the game and also became the first MLB pitcher to record 14-plus strikeouts in a game this season. The tally was also the most by a pitcher in a game since Atlanta Braves’ Spencer Strider also struck out 16 batters on September 1, 2022.
Lynn became the first White Sox pitcher to record 16 strikeouts, tying the franchise record set by Jack Harshman on July 25, 1954.
Despite the career effort Lynn earned the loss as the Mariners beat the White Sox 5-1.
“My stuff was good today, but we lost,” Lynn said after the game. “It doesn’t matter how many you strike out if you don’t win the game.”
On the season Lynn is 4-8 with a 6.51 earned run average and 102 strikeouts. Nearly half of that strikeout total has come in Lynn’s last seven outings where he has tallied 48. Sunday was only the third time Lynn recorded double-digit strikeouts this season with the two previous times being 10 each game on April 11 and 29.
