Trinidad Chambliss, right, is all smiles as he prepares to pass the football.
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has had a rather stormy offseason, off no fault of his own. He would probably vomit if forced to watch marathons of Perry Mason or Matlock.
For those, younger than dirt, those TV shows were once highly popular legal dramas.
Chambliss spent his offseason fighting off the NCAA in Mississippi courtrooms. He won, because that’s what Trinidad Chambliss does. He wins, as his 13-2 record and No. 3 national ranking the Rebels accomplished last season proves.
First, it was in tiny Pittsboro, Miss., in chancery court. Then it was in Jackson from the state’s supreme court.
It’s now over. He has his sixth year of eligibility, and there is really nothing the NCAA can do. Sure, it could appeal to the United States Supreme Court, but if that court were to hear it, the matter would take years to make its way onto the docket.
Trinidad Chambliss’ first presser of the spring.
Trinidad would likely be retired from the NFL by then.
Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding was asked about Trinidad Chambliss’ legal fight on Tuesday.
“I think he’s done an unbelievable job just focusing on what he can control,” Golding began. “Obviously, with the case, from the very beginning a lot of people in that camp (Chambliss’) felt really good about him being able to play four years. There was never a major concern (about the affects it had on Chambliss), but everything has uncertainty. He still is a kid. I think kind of the longer that it went, it started to become a little uneasy.
“While I’m not going to speak for him, but ‘I’ve got this NFL looming over me. Do I need to start preparing for that? Am I here with guys trying to be the starting quarterback and be the leader that we need?’ His maturity is off the chart and the ability to be able to focus and be where his feet are.
“I thought he handled it like a pro. There were never any issues. Throughout we were going to balance it and say we’ve got to prepare for both (outcomes). We really don’t know. We feel good about it but still go out there and develop and work with your quarterback coach and do all those things to where if it’s not good news like we think then you can go that route (pro ball).
“He’s been awesome. He’s got a really good family around him, a really good camp. It was pretty easy to be honest with you.”
Trinidad Chambliss
Now Trinidad Chambliss enters the 2026 season as one of America’s top Heisman Trophy candidates. His t-shirts, emblazoned with the simple name Trinidad and a red and blue flag of that nation, are selling like hotcakes all over Oxford. Even Wal-Mart has gotten in on the Trinidad craze. Larson’s Cash Saver sells the nation’s flag for the low-low price of eight bucks.
I never remember that happening around here before…
I also never remember Ole Miss having a Heisman winner…
Or winning a court case in spiking-the-ball fashion…
Just maybe…just maybe…this is the year.