Kellen Clemens attended Burns High School in Burns, Oregon where he played both safety and quarterback for the Highlanders. In 1999 Clemens led his team to a state championship appearance. As a senior he completed 218 of 395 passes for 3,464 yards and 37 touchdown passes. He also rushed for 325 yards and scored 15 touchdowns on the ground. He was an all-American quarterback and an all-state safety. On defense he totaled 63 tackles and 12 interceptions as a senior after recording 11 interceptions the previous year. By the end of his career, Clemens had thrown for a state record 8,646 passing yards and 102 touchdowns. Following his senior season he was named the Oregon Gatorade player of the year. He was considered to be one of the top 3 quarterbacks in the nation and accepted a scholarship to play for the University of Oregon where he sat out the 2001 season as a redshirt. The following year Clemens served as Oregon’s backup quarterback, seeing action in five games, passing for 201 yards and 2 touchdowns. As a sophomore, Clemens earned the team’s starting quarterback job. He started all 13 games that year completing 182 of 304 attempts for 2,400 yards, 18 touchdowns, and just 9 interceptions. He set the school single game record for pass completion percentage with 88.2% against Stanford. As a junior he completed 223 of 372 attempts for 2,548 yards and 22 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. He set a school record with 178 consecutive pass attempts without an interception. Clemens was named all-conference honorable mention for his performance as a junior and entered his senior season trailing only Danny O’Neil and Bill Musgrave for total passing yards by a quarterback in his first three seasons at Oregon. As a senior Clemens got off to a good start before breaking his ankle in October, effectively ending his final season at Oregon.

Kellen Clemens is a smart quarterback with good leadership ability. He works hard both on and off the field. He displays good mechanics and is an excellent passer with great accuracy on his short to intermediate range passes. He will stand in the pocket and deliver the football with a defender in his face. If a play breaks down he has the ability to get out of the pocket and make an accurate throw on the run or make a play with his feet when needed, even though he lacks great timed speed. He has good touch and timing on the shorter passes but he lacks great arm strength and touch on the deeper passes. He does a good job of leading his receivers, allowing them to gain additional yards after the catch. He has been inconsistent at times and needs to improve his decision making ability. Kellen lacks ideal height and arm strength, but he has been a player on the rise since his impressive pre-draft workouts. He has a chance to be a first day pick in the 2006 NFL draft.