| New York Jets — No. 11 | |
| Quarterback | |
| Date of Birth: June 6 1983 | |
| Place of Birth: Burns, Oregon | |
| Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | Weight: 223 lb (101 kg) |
| National Football League Debut | |
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| 2006 for the New York Jets | |
| Career Highlights and Awards | |
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| Career History | |
| College: Oregon | |
| NFL Draft: 2006 / Round: 2 / Pick: 49 | |
Teams:
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| Stats at NFL.com | |
Kellen Vincent Clemens (born June 6, 1983 in Burns, Oregon) is an American football quarterback who currently starts for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Jets in the second round (49th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played collegiately at Oregon.
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Early years
He played high school football for the Burns Hilanders and led them to the Oregon state 3A championship game in 1999.[1]
College career
Clemens played college football at the University of Oregon. He was a senior during the 2005 season, and was pursuing several school records until he broke his ankle while playing a game at Arizona. He would miss the remaining three games of the season. Still, he finished 2005 with 2,406 passing yards, 19 TDs, only 4 interceptions, and a 152.87 passer efficiency rating. He finished his Oregon career with 7,555 passing yards.
NFL Career
Clemens was selected by the Jets 49th overall in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft to serve as the secondary quarterback to Chad Pennington. A healthy Pennington resulted in little playing time for Clemens in 2006, recording only two attempts and 0 completions in his rookie season. Due to an injury to Chad Pennington in the Jets' 2007-2008 season opener against the New England Patriots, Clemens recorded his first completed pass in the NFL with a final record for the day of five complete passes on ten attempts. Clemens made his first career start in Week 2 of the 2007 season. Clemens' effectiveness was minimized by the Ravens' defense for the first three quarters, with the Jets trailing 20-3 at one point. However, in the fourth quarter, Clemens led the Jets on a scoring drive that cut Baltimore's lead to 20-13. On the last drive, Clemens attempted what would have been a game-tying touchdown pass to Jets wide receiver Justin McCareins, but the pass was intercepted by the Ravens' Ray Lewis. His next appearance would come in the Jets' Week 8 match-up against the Buffalo Bills. A struggling Pennington was pulled by head coach Eric Mangini in the middle of the fourth quarter and replaced by Clemens. Clemens led two drives against the Buffalo defense. Down 13-3 and pressed for time, Clemens attempted to quickly move the Jets offense down the field but was intercepted twice. The following day, on October 29th, 2007, Clemens was named the starting quarterback for the next game against the Washington Redskins. Kellen earned his first career win on November 18th in an overtime game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Personal life
Kellen is a sixth generation cattle rancher. He grew up herding cattle on his family's ranch in Burns, Oregon, where they own over 100 head of black Angus cattle.[2] Clemens has four sisters and majored in Business Administration at the University of Oregon.[3] In his spare time, Kellen enjoys horseback riding.[4]
References
- ^ Kellen Clemens. University of Oregon. Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
- ^ "Covering New Ground, Jets’ Clemens Relies on Deep Roots". New York Times (2007-10-16). Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
- ^ Kellen Clemens. University of Oregon. Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
- ^ Kellen Clemens - NFL Players. NFL Players (2006). Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
| Preceded by Chad Pennington |
New York Jets Starting Quarterbacks 2007- |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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