Kellen Clemens

Early life

He set a state record with 8,646 passing yards and 102 touchdowns in his high school career. He earned USA Today All-American honors and Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year, playing in the run and shoot offense under coach Terry Graham.

College career

At the University of Oregon, Clemens played for head coach Mike Bellotti. As a starter in all 13 games in 2003, he threw for more touchdowns and yards than any sophomore in school history, surpassing Dan Fouts. In a junior-year road win over Washington State, he posted three rushing touchdowns, three passing touchdowns, and a career-best 437 passing yards. As a senior in 2005, he broke his ankle against Arizona and missed the final three games, finishing with 2,406 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, and four interceptions. His 7,555 career passing yards ranked third in school history at the time.

Professional career

The New York Jets selected Clemens in the second round of the 2006 NFL draft, 49th overall, as a backup to Chad Pennington. In his rookie season, he appeared in two games, recording one pass attempt and two rushes for 10 yards, with no completions. In 2007, after Pennington was injured in the season opener, Clemens completed five of ten passes in a loss to the New England Patriots. In Week 8 against the Buffalo Bills, he replaced a struggling Pennington and threw two interceptions.

He was named starter the next week against the Washington Redskins, throwing for 226 yards and a touchdown in a 23–20 loss. He finished the 2007 season with 1,529 passing yards, five touchdowns, and ten interceptions in 11 games. In 2008, as backup to Brett Favre, he attempted five passes in two games. When kicker Mike Nugent injured his thigh in a September game against the Miami Dolphins, Clemens served as the team's placekicker but was not called upon to kick.

Personal life

Kellen Clemens grew up on a 3,500-acre cattle ranch in Burns, Oregon, where he helped herd over 100 head of cattle and enjoyed horseback riding as a boy. He has four younger sisters and earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of Oregon. In 1998, he was named an International League All Star. Clemens, a practicing Roman Catholic, lives in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, with his wife Nicole and their four children. He serves as Board Chair and Athletic Director at Coeur du Christ Academy. Devoted to the Holy Family of Nazareth and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, he wears the Brown Scapular. He voted for Mitt Romney in the 2012 election, citing pro-life reasons, and is a member of Catholic Athletes for Christ. In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI blessed and kissed his four-week-old daughter at a Papal Mass in Washington, D.C.