'Trinidad Magic': Meet the Ole Miss breakout QB even his teammates hadn't heard of

OXFORD, Miss. -- The day the spring transfer portal opened for Division II football players in April, Ole Miss co-offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. was glued to the computer screen in his office, watching highlights of then-Ferris State quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.

When Weis wanted to confirm that he was really seeing what he thought he was seeing, he called in quarterbacks coach Joe Judge.

Then, just to make sure they were both right about Chambliss' ability, they brought in co-offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Joe Cox for further confirmation.

"We better get Coach Kiffin," one of them said.

As Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin watched Chambliss scrambling and throwing deep balls, he saw the traits of someone familiar: former Miami quarterback Cam Ward, the No. 1 pick in April's NFL draft. The Rebels had recruited Ward when he left FCS program Incarnate Word after the 2021 season and believed he was coming to Ole Miss. But Ward signed with Washington State after it hired Incarnate Word coach Eric Morris as its offensive coordinator. Ward spent two seasons with the Cougars before playing his final one at Miami, where he was an All-American.

"By the time we were done watching the whole thing, there's about 12 people in there, like at a watch party," Kiffin said.

Chambliss, who led Ferris State to a 14-1 record and its third Division II national championship in four seasons in 2024, was scheduled to visit Temple that week.

"Get him on the phone," Kiffin told his assistants. "He's flying here tonight."

Chambliss arrived at Ole Miss soon thereafter, and Kiffin and the others sold him on a chance to compete with Austin Simmons for the starting quarterback job and playing against the best teams in the SEC. After receiving interest from about a dozen schools after entering the portal, Chambliss committed to play for the Rebels on April 15.

Six months later, Chambliss is one of the hottest quarterbacks in the FBS, leading the No. 5 Rebels to four straight victories since taking over for Simmons, who injured his ankle in a 30-23 victory at Kentucky on Sept. 6.

After stepping into the starting role in a 41-35 win against Arkansas on Sept. 13, Chambliss became the first SEC player with 300 passing yards and 50 rushing yards in three consecutive games over the past 30 years. He threw for 253 yards with two touchdowns and ran for another score in last week's 24-21 win against Washington State.

Kiffin hasn't yet announced which quarterback will start in Saturday's showdown at No. 9 Georgia (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC), but it would be a surprise if he didn't stick with Chambliss. Last week, Kiffin said Simmons wasn't fully recovered (he aggravated the injury in a brief appearance against the Razorbacks) and would have a chance to win the job back once he's healthy.

"He's quick, he's fast, he's tough, he's got great lower body, great instincts," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said of Chambliss. "There's a difference [between] being a fast guy and being a runner. He's patient behind blocks, quick when he needs to be. [Ole Miss] should get the greatest award there is for finding this guy. I don't know who scouted him, who found him, but he is a really good football player that they went out and got and did a tremendous job."

Chambliss' unlikely underdog story has captured the imagination of Ole Miss fans, who are flying Trinidad and Tobago flags during games and around campus.

"It's been amazing," Chambliss said. "It has been a dream come true. I prayed for this. I've dreamed of this. You can ask my friends from back home; this was a goal of mine ever since I was little. And my dad and my mom and my brother, we've been working for this moment my entire life, really."

NO, CHAMBLISS WASN'T named after the Caribbean dual-island nation of about 1.4 million people located off the Venezuelan coast. When Cheryl Chambliss was pregnant with her second child, she and her husband, Trent, came to an agreement: She would name the baby if it was a girl, and he would for a boy.

Trent Chambliss, an assistant principal at Wyoming High School in Michigan, wanted a name that would stand out and was strong. He was at a friend's house watching a Félix Trinidad fight, and thought the Puerto Rican boxer's last name was perfect.

Cheryl Chambliss, whose late father, Donald Griffioen, was a longtime pastor and helped open churches around the country, agreed to her husband's idea with one condition: She would name a baby girl Trinity, after the Christian doctrine that says God exists as three separate persons -- the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

"We are a faith-based family," Cheryl Chambliss said. "Trinidad was just fine with me because it translates to Trinity, and so that's very important. When people ask me, he is named after the Trinity."

Trinidad Jay Chambliss was born Aug. 24, 2002, about 11 years after his older brother, Tyler. Almost immediately, Trent put a ball in Trinidad's hands. Trent was an offensive lineman at Grand Rapids Junior College in Michigan and Central State University in Ohio for two seasons before he joined the Navy.

Trent Chambliss grew up in South Bend, Indiana, and was an avid Notre Dame fan. A longtime high school football, basketball and bowling coach, he tossed a stuffed Fighting Irish football to his new son when he was only a few months old. Trinidad Chambliss went to a handful of football camps at Notre Dame and several Fighting Irish games.

"He was catching a ball before he could walk," Trent Chambliss said. "I just threw everything at him -- socks, keys, whatever. The kid caught everything."

Trinidad Chambliss grew up playing baseball, basketball and football. In high school, he concentrated on the latter two sports, and believed he'd most likely play basketball in college. As a senior at Forest Hills Northern High in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he threw for 1,610 yards and 17 touchdowns in seven games at quarterback. He was named all-state in basketball after averaging 14.5 points and 4.5 assists.

CHAMBLISS' SENIOR YEAR of high school in 2020-21 occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, limiting his ability to attend camps and get exposure in front of college coaches. When it came time to pick a college, his options were limited to mostly junior colleges and Division III programs.

"No coach ever got to see him in person," said Eddie Ostipow, who coached Chambliss in football in his final two seasons of high school. "And he was playing a lot of AAU basketball in the spring and summer. He loves football, but he really was focused on basketball. I think you put those two factors together and that's really the explanation of why he didn't get a ton of interest."

Among the teams recruiting him in basketball: Calvin University, Aquinas College, University of Olivet and Kalamazoo Valley Community College, all of which are located in Michigan.

There were some familiar names involved in his football recruitment, but not the actual ones most college football fans know well: Notre Dame (the college in Ohio, not the university in Indiana), Michigan (Tech, not the powerhouse in Ann Arbor), Butler University (in football, not hoops), North Dakota (not FCS power North Dakota State) and Northwestern (the university in Lima, Ohio, not the one in Chicago that competes in the Big Ten).

"Honestly, I feel like I was just a late bloomer," Chambliss said. "Growing up, I wasn't the biggest guy. I wasn't the strongest kid. Coming out of high school, going into my freshman year of college, I was probably 6 feet, like 175 pounds, so a little scrawny kid. I'm not the biggest guy. When coaches look at you out of high school, they say the eye test, and I didn't fit the eye test."

Tony Annese, a longtime high school coach in Michigan who took over the Ferris State program in 2012, was willing to give Chambliss a chance. He was given the equivalent of a 25% scholarship as a freshman in 2022, about $6,000 per year.

"He knew my family growing up, and he actually didn't recruit me because of my football abilities," Chambliss said. "He went to a basketball game and saw that I was a point guard and could facilitate the ball and get people open and find a way to score. I think he took a shot on me, and he knew that I was athletic. I'm grateful that he gave me a chance."

Chambliss barely played as a freshman at Ferris State in 2022, as Kent State transfer Mylik Mitchell led the Bulldogs to their second straight Division II national championship. Annese prefers to play multiple quarterbacks, and Chambliss saw action in eight games the next season after gaining about 25 pounds.

Last season, Chambliss won the starting job and was set to share snaps with junior Carson Gulker. In the opener at Pittsburg State in Kansas, Chambliss threw two interceptions in a 19-3 loss.

"I'd be lying to you if I said that there were no doubts that I could be the quarterback at Ferris State because there were definitely doubts," Chambliss said. "I prayed after that game. I actually thanked God that happened because I feel like it was a lesson and an experience that I needed to go through. I feel like that helped our team and helped me as a player to persevere through adversity."

Gulker broke his right leg in a 56-3 win against Lake Erie the next week. Chambliss took the majority of snaps from there, and the Bulldogs won their last 14 games. He threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more in a 49-14 victory over top-seed Valdosta State in the Division II national championship game in McKinney, Texas.

Chambliss passed for 2,925 yards and ran for 1,019 more with 51 total touchdowns in 2024. He was named an All-American and was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy, the Division II Heisman Trophy.

Mike Taylor co-founded AgDiago, an analytics firm that specializes in streamlining the evaluation of prospects and identifying behavioral traits. His company has worked with Ferris State the past five years, and AgDiago evaluated Chambliss when he was playing there. AgDiago also works with Notre Dame, LSU, Michigan and Kansas State, among other programs.

"With Trinidad, the things that were quickly unveiled were that he was highly persistent and overcame adversity very quickly," Taylor said. "He's somebody that can flush a mistake quickly. It reminds me a lot when we looked at Jayden Daniels. There's a lot of similarities under the hood, so to speak, between him and Jayden Daniels. He's athletic, obviously, but he's a team-first guy. He's also very coachable, all while having a nice, strong work ethic."

After Chambliss' performance in the national title game, a few FBS schools, including UCF and Georgia State, reached out to Steve Calhoun, his private quarterbacks coach in California. They told Calhoun they'd be interested in signing him if he entered the transfer portal.

"I wasn't ready to leave Ferris State at that time," Chambliss said. "It didn't feel right, honestly. I talked to my parents, and it just wasn't the right time."

That changed this past spring when more and more programs called. Chambliss and his father met with Annese in March and broke the news that he was leaving. They thanked Annese for giving him the chance that other coaches didn't.

WHEN CHAMBLISS ARRIVED in Oxford, Mississippi, this summer, Kiffin and his coaches still weren't sure what kind of quarterback they had. They only knew they had a player with a great work ethic who was truly grateful for a chance to play big-time football.

Kiffin joked that he sometimes has to remind Chambliss that the Gatorades in the football facility are free.

"I call it three-star syndrome versus five stars," Kiffin said. "This is zero-star syndrome. This is the best of all times, you know? This is like buying a Christmas present for a rich kid versus a kid that has nothing, how they react and how they appreciate things. He never even went on an official visit in high school."

Chambliss said his new teammates welcomed him with open arms, even if some of them might have Googled where he came from.

"A lot of guys are four-stars and five-stars that come to SEC schools," Chambliss said. "They don't really know what Ferris State is or anything about Division II programs. I bet they were like, 'Ferris State? What is that?'"

It didn't take Kiffin and his assistants long to realize they might have landed a special quarterback once the Rebels started scrimmaging at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium during preseason camp.

Ole Miss linebackers coach Chris Kiffin, the head coach's brother, dropped another big comparison earlier this season. Chris Kiffin was the Cleveland Browns' defensive line coach when Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield was the team's quarterback in 2020 and 2021. Chris Kiffin said Chambliss walked like Mayfield, carried the same demeanor on the field, played loose with quick feet like Mayfield and wore the same jersey number (No. 6).

"It just would happen, especially in the red zone," Kiffin said. "We'd be in scrimmages, and some of the offensive coaches would go, 'There's Trinidad Magic.' He just would make something happen. It was like, 'Oh, boy, what's he doing now?' He'd spin out, run all the way over there and make a play. I remember saying, 'I think this guy's one of those guys, one of those gamers.'"

At the very least, Lane Kiffin believed he had a capable backup if Simmons suffered an injury. Kiffin saw how losing a starting quarterback and not having another one to step in could affect a team​​ last season when the Rebels lost 24-17 at Florida. The Gators had been beaten badly by Georgia and Texas when starter DJ Lagway went down because of a hamstring injury. Florida won four straight games once Lagway returned.

"When we talk about salaries and [roster management], because obviously that's part of it, the investment in the quarterback position besides just the one who's supposed to be the starter is worth a lot of money," Kiffin said. "All of that went into it -- seeing how great [Chambliss] was and seeing what happened with other teams. It had nothing to do with not having confidence in Austin."

Halfway through his first season at Ole Miss, Chambliss has won over his teammates and the school's rabid fan base. He's being mentioned as a sleeper Heisman candidate, especially if the Rebels keep winning.

"Heisman Trophy, the best player in college football, you dream of that," Chambliss said. "It's crazy to hear my name. You play the video games, NCAA Football 14, and that's what you want to do. It's been amazing, but I can't really think about that right now."

If nothing else, Kiffin says Chambliss' story as a player who fell through the recruiting cracks to become an SEC starter might inspire kids at smaller schools around the country.

"This is such a good story for all the D-II and D-III players and all the high school kids not getting offers in small high schools," Kiffin said. "This is such a good story for hope. Like, 'Hey, man, someone might find you.' Keep pushing, you know?"