Times Article About Clemens

Farm Boy Looks to Life in Big City With Jets


By KAREN CROUSE

Published: May 12, 2006

Where Kellen Clemens comes from, his family's 3,400-acre farm is considered small. Where he was headed Wednesday night, a 1,000-square-foot apartment, is considered spacious. Clemens, a quarterback who was drafted in the second round by the Jets, laughed. "I'm in for it, aren't I?" he said in a telephone interview.

A few hours later Clemens, 22, boarded a flight in Oregon for his first trip to New York, to attend a three-day Jets rookie minicamp beginning today. In his predraft life, he might have hopped onto a horse to escape worries such as regaining his form after breaking his leg last fall, or proving himself capable of being an everyday N.F.L. player. But perhaps his biggest concern involves making the transition from a countrified lifestyle to a gentrified one.

"It's going to be kind of intimidating to a certain extent," he said.

The oldest of Vicki and John Clemens's five children and their only son, he was born and raised in Burns, a farming community of 3,064 in eastern Oregon. The worst commute he had growing up was the five-mile bus ride to and from school. Even after Clemens left home to attend the University of Oregon in Eugene, he did not venture far from his roots.

He made the five-and-a-half-hour drive home to help tend to the family's 100 head of cattle whenever his schedule permitted. After Clemens became the Ducks' starting quarterback and the demands on his time made it tougher to get back to Burns, he found a substitute retreat in Pleasant Hill, a rural town outside Eugene. Clemens was befriended by a family there who gave him free rein to ride its horses.

"It was really kind of a saving experience in a lot of ways," Clemens said. He added, "There's something pretty calming and soothing about being able to get on a horse and take a ride."

Growing up around horses, Clemens learned early the importance of getting back in the saddle after taking a spill. The lesson became his road map for recovery when, during the second half of a game at Arizona in late October, a broken left fibula ended his season.

The 6-foot-2, 223-pound Clemens, who was in the midst of a marvelous season, with 19 touchdowns, 4 interceptions and a 64 percent completion percentage in 8 games, underwent surgery and was walking on crutches in December. Two months later he participated in the N.F.L. combine, but he could not push off his left leg well and struggled with his throws.

His future in the N.F.L., which seemed rock solid a few months earlier, suddenly looked as wobbly as a desperation pass.

"It was kind of scary for a while," John Clemens said in a telephone interview. "But I knew his films were out there for the scouts to see. And I also knew Kell could get back to where he had been before the injury because of his work ethic."

The boy who had been breaking in wild horses since he was in junior high, who had been digging irrigation ditches since before that on land his family has farmed since the late 1800's, got up every day and did whatever needed to be done for his rehabilitation. His tenacity did not go unnoticed by the Jets, who also liked the strength of his arm. When they drafted Clemens at No. 49, his family rejoiced.

Clemens's youngest sister, who is 7, learned the J-E-T-S cheer and kept chanting it. As the afternoon wore on, the magnitude of this seismic change in Clemens's life registered with his parents and sisters, and feelings of apprehension rubbed against their jubilation.

"You hear all these things about New York," John Clemens said. "How the media is so rough and the fans are so tough. It is going to be kind of a culture shock."

Clemens, who was married last year, said he and his wife, Nicole, were excited about exploring New York's rich treasure trove of history and culture. He suspects that his new world will not clash with his old one as much as the well-worn generalizations would have you believe.

"When I got to college I had people asking me if we had electricity where I came from," Clemens said, laughing. "It was unbelievable. There were people who grew up in the state who were thinking we're still riding around in covered wagons where I'm from."

In the beginning, he said, he will confine his world to the Jets' practice facility and whatever tiny living space he and Nicole decide to make their temporary home. Asked what he would miss most about where he grew up, Clemens replied, "Oh, man, I think really just the wide openness of it, the freedom that that lifestyle kind of gives a person."