“I’ve got a lot of relationships built on trust with G.M.s and head coaches in the NFL,” Kelly said. “I’m going to be honest with them and honest with DeShone. There’s a lot of growth that has to take place. But I go back to what are the common threads a great player needs to have. He’s got to have traits of excellence. He’s got to be able to have attention to detail and that focus, he’s got to be smart and he’s got to have the ability to grind and a great attitude. He’s got those traits but they’ve got to be continuously worked on. Whoever takes DeShone, he’s not a finished product in those areas. But when he does get more time to work on those traits, you’re going to have a great young man and a great quarterback. The skills are out there, you can see them. You can go to the workout and see that he’s got those skills, he’s just not complete yet.

“If you want to draft him and say come on, turn it over to him, you’re going to have to support him with great leaders around him and great leadership. But if you’re going to give him time and get a mentor for him, you’re going to have a great guy. That’s my honesty when I talk to G.M.s and head coaches.”

“I’ve had a number of conversations with GMs and coaches about DeShone, and my personal feeling is he has the biggest upside of all the quarterbacks,” Kelly said. “I don’t know that he’s prepared to come in and win a Super Bowl for you (immediately). Some may feel as though maybe one of the other quarterbacks are, I don’t know that firsthand. But I think in time, he has the biggest upside of all the three quarterbacks.”

He did add that in time, Kizer could be the right guy for an organization.

“Everybody’s under the same pressure of performing and needing somebody to come in right away,” Kelly said. “But I think he’s a guy that just needs some time. So if he gets in the right situation I think he’d be the guy to take.”

“He still should be in college,” Kelly said. “But the circumstances are such that you have to make business decisions. And he felt like it was in his best interest, and I’m going to support him in his decisions.

“But the reality is he needs more football. He needs more time to grow in so many areas, not just on the field but off the field. He’s a great kid, he’s got great character. Character, you don’t change character much. And he’s got great character so you’re not going to have an issue there with that young man.

“But he’s going to continue to learn, and he’ll learn with great coaches around him and a great mentor around him. There’s a huge amount of growth that will happen every single day with DeShone Kizer.”