New HC Spills the Beans on Kellen Mond
Kellen Mond was once a promising prospect in the NFL draft, and some of those who followed him in the SEC expected him to find success at the next level. A few years in, Mond was forced to take a step back and compete in the UFL instead.
New HC Spills the Beans on Kellen Mond
His spring league career got off to a rocky start, too. He lost his starting job after a handful of games and backed up ex-NFLer Kevin Hogan for a few weeks. In the final regular season contest of the year, the San Antonio Brahmas made another change because Hogan was unavailable due to an injury.
HC Pardee on Mond
Mond started the game against the St. Louis Battlehawks, a much stronger team. The Brahmas’ struggles in the 39-13 defeat were unsurprising, and the quarterback’s stat line wasn’t too inspiring, although he certainly played better than those numbers would suggest. He finished the game with 103 passing yards, completing 14 of 26 passes. The ex-Viking did not have a touchdown or an interception.
The passer earned praise from his head coach, Payton Pardee, for his final performance in his first UFL season:
“I can’t say enough about how proud I am of Kellen. I thought he had an excellent football game, and really, the big thing I wanna speak on, I’m not at all surprised by Kellen’s performance because of how he prepares. He is truly the epitome of the word ‘professional’ and the ebs and flows that we had in this football season, he continued to have a positive attitude, continued to prepare as if he was the starter and so when he got this opportunity, I thought he took advantage of it and did a lot of really good things, overall. I’m really, really proud of Kellen and his performance today.”
Mond made some plays and looked way better than he did earlier in the season. He also added 20 yards on the ground. His team was just outmatched.
Mond’s UFL Journey
The Brahmas had a strange season this year. After losing the UFL title game a year ago, they fell off badly, finishing with an 1-8 record this time.
Mond signed with the Brahmas in the hope of reviving his NFL career. Throughout the season, he accumulated 700 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and two interceptions. He completed 81 of his 144 passes (56.3%). On the ground, Mond had 102 yards.
He surely hoped for more success, but the circumstances were not ideal. The offense never clicked, and the offensive coordinator, AJ Smith, resigned after two games. Head coach Wade Phillips stepped down after a medical emergency a few games later.
It remains to be seen whether Mond has done enough to get an invite to an NFL training camp. Luis Perez is leading the league with more than 2,000 passing yards and has nine touchdowns and five picks. Jordan Ta’amu, who once had a brief stint with the Vikings, is a strong MVP candidate with 16 touchdowns and only four INTs. Those guys are probably better bets for an NFL team that’s looking for depth.
Mond’s Disappointing NFL Chapter
Mond’s NFL career started eventfully, too. Mike Zimmer was never a fan of the signal-caller, and drafting him just threw gasoline on the fire that was a behind-the-scenes feud with general manager Rick Spielman.
He then got COVID in his first training camp, missed crucial developmental time, and returned after losing a bunch of weight. It’s needless to say he remained in the QB3 role behind Kirk Cousins and Sean Mannion. His only game experience came later in the year when Cousins was on the COVID list and Mannion was dinged up. Of his three passes, two were checkdowns and one was a dropped pick-six.
Zimmer’s comments after the game were brutal, but he was fired a week later.
Kevin O’Connell then got a good look at the passer but was not a fan, either. Mond was cut after his second preseason with the club and had stints with the Browns, Colts, and Saints. He has not seen the field since his Vikings days.
Mond will turn 26 next month.
Editor’s Note: Information from the UFL, PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.