NIL created an era during which successful student-athletes can leverage their accomplishments in return for more compensation, sometimes by transferring to new schools. Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy, after their successes in the 2025-26 season, had plenty to bargain with in the portal, yet they stayed in Oxford.
Both athletes would have accumulated great value within the transfer portal. However, Chambliss and Lacy rejected exploring their options for an opportunity only Ole Miss Football could offer them: the chance to leave a legacy.
“That’s something I always dreamed of — just being some of those guys that you know when people come to a school, they have people to look up to,” Lacy said at SEC Media Days.
Chambliss believes that leaving a lasting impact on a program has an incomparable value.
“That’s what you want when you’re playing the game that you love: to leave your mark on the institution and the program and on people you know that surround you with great support,” Chambliss said at SEC Media Days.
The Rebel football program has seen an abundance of recent success, with a 52-15 record and five postseason wins since 2021, as well as a program-record 13 wins and a CFP semifinal finish a season ago.
However, the team has not claimed a conference championship, or National Championship, since 1963. This lack of championship trophies motivates Lacy to stay the course.
“I feel like what we built here is something special, and we could do what we didn’t do last year and finish the job with all the people we have,” Lacy said.
The duo brings great momentum and lofty expectations for the upcoming season. They hope to rewrite more record books and bring a championship trophy back home to Oxford.
Appearing in 15 games (13 starts) last season, Chambliss registered 3,937 passing yards and 30 total touchdowns with just three interceptions, leading the SEC in passing yards and touchdown to interception ratio (7.3 to one).
The quarterback’s stellar performance earned him the honors of SEC Newcomer of the Year, Second Team All-SEC and eighth place in Heisman Trophy voting.
Lacy, his backfield partner, shattered the Ole Miss rushing yard and touchdowns record with 1,567 yards and 24 touchdowns, earning him a selection as a Doak Walker Award Finalist, First Team All-SEC honors and AP First Team All-American honors.
Entering the 2026-27 season, both Chambliss and Lacy ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, in ESPN’s preseason Top 100 college football player rankings. They also appeared on numerous preseason honorary teams and watchlists for awards.
When it is all said and done for Chambliss and Lacy, the two could be amongst the best to ever play at Ole Miss. Chambliss specifically stated that he will come back to Oxford when he is no longer playing football.
“Now, Oxford’s home. It’s going to be home for a lot of years to come now, and there’s honestly an investment, as well,” Chambliss said. “Hopefully, I have a long NFL career — God willing — and then, once I’m done playing football, I can come to Ole Miss games, use that property and finally go to the Grove.”
