Gold Jacket Spotlight: Jim Kelly left no doubt he was elite

At separate stages in his life, JIM KELLY expressed certainty of two topics.

The first belief he expressed while considering his college selection was that he was a quarterback, not a linebacker. His other conviction: He did not want to play for the Buffalo Bills.

Jim and his certitude in those instances are the subject of this week’s Gold Jacket Spotlight.

As an all-state high school football player in East Brady, Pa., Jim realized a majority of in-state high school players selected the University of Pittsburgh or Penn State University to continue their career paths.

Jim, a Penn State fan, met with then-Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno to discuss the opportunity. To Jim’s surprise, as he explained during the NFL feature, “A Football Life,” Paterno informed him, “We already have the two quarterbacks we were going for, but we’ll give you a full ride as a linebacker.”

Wanting to play quarterback and not linebacker, Jim considered other universities, eventually deciding to play for the University of Miami.

Howard Schnellenberger replaced Lou Saban as the Hurricanes’ coach during Jim’s second season. While reviewing the talent level of his squad, Schnellenberger later told NFL Films, “(Jim) was gregarious, outgoing, showed a lot of leadership. Watched him throw a little bit and has a good arm. I thought, ‘Boy, this might be the guy.’ ”

Ironically — or as an occurrence of poetic justice — Jim’s initial collegiate start came against Penn State. 

“I’m playing against a coach that said I wasn’t good enough to play for him,” Jim would recall later.

Jim led Miami to a 26-10 victory while a play-by-play announcer declared, “...slicing up the Lions like a surgeon.”

Following his stellar collegiate career, which ended with a season-ending surgery his final year, Jim successfully rehabilitated in preparation for the 1983 NFL Draft.

Prior to that draft, Jim informed his agent, “I don’t want to play for Green Bay. I don’t want to play for Minnesota. And I sure don’t want to play for the Buffalo Bills.”

The Bills selected Notre Dame tight end Tony Hunter with the 12th pick of that draft, and Jim, for a moment, believed any chance of being drafted by Buffalo had passed. His agent reminded him that Buffalo also had the 14th pick, however, and ...

“I cried,” Jim once said. “I didn’t literally cry; inside I did.”

Hello, USFL.

Four months prior to the NFL Draft, the USFL selected Jim and, aware of his comments regarding Buffalo, Bruce Allen of the USFL and Chicago Blitz informed Jim that if he joined the USFL, he could make the selection as to which team he would join.

Jim elected to sign with the Houston Gamblers and proceeded to be named the USFL’s MVP after his rookie season, one that saw him throw 44 touchdown passes.

Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News observed, “(Jim) had the whole package for somebody that you pictured as being a great quarterback for your team.”

Following the USFL’s folding in 1986, Buffalo still retained Jim’s rights, requiring him to decide to either sit out a season (allowing the rights to expire) or to play in Buffalo.

“(Jim’s) insistent that he is not ever going to play for the Bills. But in his toughness and his stubbornness, he met his match in BILL POLIAN (Bills general manager),” Jim’s longtime Buffalo teammate and fellow quarterback Frank Reich said.

Polian later recalled telling Jim, “We drafted BRUCE SMITH with you in mind … the cornerstone on defense. You’ll be the cornerstone on offense. We’ve got ANDRE REED. We’ve got a really good and growing offensive line. I think we bonded. At the end of it, he said, ‘Let’s see if we can do a contract.’ ”

While contradicting his earlier belief, Jim signed the Bills’ offer. He eventually appeared in four consecutive Super Bowls and earned enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the Class of 2002.

And that’s for certain.