The people and places that made Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss' breakout star QB living his dreams in the SEC

In the shadow of 60,000 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss needed just one more moment. Facing fourth-and-3 against No. 4 LSU, Ole Miss could settle for a field goal, but coach Lane Kiffin decided to put it in the hands of his little-known quarterback against one of the best defenses in college football. 

Only 364 days earlier, Chambliss was starting his first career road game as the primary quarterback for Division II powerhouse Ferris State against American International, a world away from the Southeastern Conference. For three years, he was relegated to special packages and backup duty. 

When Ole Miss recruited him from the championship program, it was to be a high-upside backup -- there was never much thought that he might actually play meaningful snaps. Austin Simmons has long been the future of the program in Oxford, until an injury changed everything. And now, Chambliss was set to take the snap in the biggest moment of the young season. 

"Every kid dreams about that," Chambliss said. "I used to play NCAA 14 and wanted to be at this level." 

Kiffin called a timeout before the play to dial up a tight end concept out of the flat. Chambliss dropped back, ice in his veins, and quickly recognized Dae'Quan Wright leaking out, delivering a perfect strike. Wright fell to the ground inbounds after 20 yards. The quarterback took a knee to run out the clock and threw his arms in the air. A 24-19 upset was complete. 

Eight hundred miles away in Michigan, the community that made him roared as the final seconds ticked off the clock. 

"I get a lot of texts and emails from people, even the teaching staff that had Trinidad as a student and followed him," Forest Hill Northern coach Eddie Ostipow said. "Everybody has a lot of pride, but it's kind of a thing where you can't really believe it. Like nobody would have thought this is how he would have ended up being on this stage. For everybody, it's very surreal." 

I. The Point Guard's Finisher

Trinidad Chambliss practically grew up in the hallways of Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was named after the Holy Trinity -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- and brought up in a tight-knit community known for strong families. 

His father, Trent, worked as a security liaison at the high school. From an early age, Trent would take Trinidad to the high school basketball practice after elementary school let out. He would get shots up for hours, stopping only for a juice box or Gatorade, and get right back to it. Even from that age, he wanted to be one of the guys, and would go talk up the varsity players after practice. 

"That smile was there when he was born," Northern basketball coach Joe Soules said. "That's that classic smile, it's just Trinidad, and he can't get it off his face." 

Soon, Chambliss was joined on the sidelines by a new face. Ethan Erickson played AAU basketball with Trinidad after meeting him at a Gus Macker Tournament, despite living more than an hour away in Lansing, Michigan. In fifth grade, Erickson's family decided to move into the same neighborhood. They already made the drive so much, it just made sense, and the Chambliss family were the kind of people you want your son around. 

The two boys became inseparable, finding connection in their mutual love of sport. 

When basketball season ended, they'd play travel baseball, where Trinidad was a star shortstop. During the offseason, they'd play wiffle ball in their cul de sac, lower the rim so they could dunk on each other, and golf. Every moment was a competition. 

"I think from the outside, there was a perspective that they were two alphas that were trying to gain control of who's better, that they're never going to be able to mesh together," Soules said. "That was the furthest thing from the truth." 

Chambliss was a point guard, small but quick. He had the ball on a string and was able to control games with his pace. Next to him was Erickson, 6-foot-1 and a deadeye shooter. The pair played together for a decade pushing each other, growing, thriving. Iron sharpening iron. 

"He would always push me to be the best person and best player I could be on the court," Chambliss said. "We would always go at it in practice, and he would just bust me up from three. He was always competitive, but always by my side supporting me. That's what you have friends for." 

Multi-sport athletes were the norm at Northern High School, and Chambliss also starred on the gridiron. He primarily played quarterback, but the program's option-based offense limited his passing opportunities. But his arm was never in question. 

"It just came off his hand effortlessly," Ostipow said. "He always could throw it. Very few kids in high school can make throws from one hash to the opposite side of the field, and he was always able to do that." 

However, basketball remained his first love. With Erickson in his corner, magic happened. Chambliss was a perfect setup man, and Erickson would knock it home. The dreams of Northern rested on their shoulders. 

During their senior year, Erickson and Chambliss led Northern into the Redhawk Showcase tournament against Williamston. In the second half, the pair started going iso-mode, taking bad shots and looking for individual glory. A 15-point lead slowly dissipated. 

Soules stood motionless with his arms crossed on the sideline. An assistant looked up and knew. He was letting it happen. Trinidad and Ethan were leaders. They had to figure it out on their own. 

After Northern lost the game, Soules came and confronted them together. You have to learn how to get the best out of each other, he said. This time will live and die on whether you can do that. 

"That's what Tony Annese wants. That's what Coach Lane Kiffin wants. You want winners. You want dogs. And Trinidad has learned how to do that over time. It's a maturation process," Soules said. 

Forest Hills Northern didn't lose another game until the Final Four at Michigan State's historic Breslin Center, capping off one of the best seasons in school history. 

II. The Workout Warrior

Ferris State sits 45 minutes up the road in Big Rapids, a small college town with a rural flair. The Bulldogs are the kings of Division II, winning three of the last four national championships under Annese. Ten players have gone to the NFL under Annese, including Dolphins star defensive tackle Zach Sieler. 

"There is a really well established environment of small college football," Ferris State athletic director Steve Brockelbank said. "There's been a long history here of good small college football… I think people in West Michigan recognize that there's really good football being played out there and high end, quality athletes on the field." 

Some have claimed that Chambliss had only played in front of crowds of a thousand fans. The Bulldogs regularly see crowds of more than 10,000. 

When Ferris State coach Tony Annese came to see Chambliss play football, he wasn't impressed. He was a good athlete, but certainly not one that jumped off the page. But when Annese stopped by a Northern basketball game, it clicked. The game slowed down for Chambliss, and his vision shone through. 

"I really like quarterbacks who have been challenged with playing a position in another sport that requires open vision," Annese said. "I'm an old guy, so I go back to Magic Johnson and his point guard abilities, where you see things almost before they happen. Trinidad was that way as a point guard." 

Chambliss had some interest from basketball programs in the college recruitment process, but primarily at the NAIA level. Ferris State was an elite football program. When Annese offered, it made sense to lock in. Erickson also signed at Ferris State to play basketball, giving him a much-needed confidant as they stepped out of the nest. 

Like many multi-sport athletes, Chambliss' physique was built more through activity than bulk. He arrived at Ferris State weighing only 170 pounds. Small college football is defined by strong, physical bodies, especially in the Midwest. Annese's offense featured plenty of quarterback running game and option principles. 

"There were two doubts I had when I recruited him," Annese said. "How committed was he going to be to the weight room? And how tough will he be physically?" 

Like so many to come through Ferris State's program, Chambliss had to wait. He redshirted his first season in 2021 and barely touched the field in 2022, a frustrating time for a player used to playing live competition year round. At one point, he considered transferring to non-scholarship Division III to play basketball as he got tired of waiting. 

Before the 2023 season, though, Chambliss found his next muse. Ferris State wide receiver Jeremiah Lee transferred into the program from the University of Indianapolis. In Chambliss, Lee found a fellow kindred spirit who was ready to put in the work. The pair ended up rooming together at Ferris State. 

"That whole offseason of 2023, we just grinded every single day," Lee said. "We worked out two or three times a day -- lifting, going to the field. We'd just talk about dreaming of moments of playing in the SEC or playing on the big stage." 

For Chambliss, that meant transforming his body. Weighing in at 170 wasn't good enough. He needed to pack on muscle. Over the summer, they built a routine: working out, watching college football highlights and then working out more. 

Chambliss and Lee sat down together and typed out meal plans for themselves in their notes app. Every week featured Walmart runs to buy meat, eggs and cheap protein shakes to cheaply up their calories and build muscle mass. 

Erickson -- who emerged as a leading scorer on the basketball team -- remembers stopping by a few times and asking Trinidad to come get ice cream with him during a beautiful Michigan summer day. No, Chambliss replied. I've got to stick to my diet and go lift. 

"He was crazy committed to the weight room, probably the top 5% among our guys" Annese said. "And we have a great strength training culture, saying he was top 5% is unbelievable." 

That's not bluster. Former Ferris State star Justin Zimmer was once called "The Iron Giant" because of his freakish strength, including doing 44 reps on the bench press. Fellow former Bulldog Zach Sieler was named MVP of the Miami Dolphins last year after going from D-II walk-on to starting defensive tackle. 

The weight rooms of Ferris State were the place that made Chambliss' body unbreakable. Soon, his mind would follow. 

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III. Moment of Truth

Chambliss played sparingly as a sophomore, starting one game but primarily working as the third-string quarterback. After his body took another step, he entered 2024 as part of a two-quarterback system with Carson Gulker. His first moments weren't great. 

In his season debut, Chambliss threw two interceptions in a 19-3 loss against No. 6 Pittsburg State. In the first quarter of the second game against Lake Erie, Gulker broke his leg, suddenly putting more focus on Chambliss's body transformation. Suddenly, he was responsible for both legs of the dual-threat offense. 

"It was a brutal way for him to get the starting job because we're close with [Gulker]," Lee said. "But he knew it was time to go. He'd been waiting so long for this opportunity and he wasn't going to let it slip." 

Chambliss threw for 246 yards and added five total touchdowns in a 56-3 win over Lake Erie. From there, his season snowballed. He threw for 383 yards and six touchdowns in a decimation of Michigan Tech. Then on the road against powerhouse Grand Valley State in front of 17,000 fans, he posted 122 yards rushing and three touchdowns to rocket Ferris State to the top of the GLIAC. 

Chambliss exploded for 2,925 yards passing, 1,019 yards rushing and 51 total touchdowns as Ferris State started rattling off wins. 

"He made some huge improvements last year, the command of the offense more than anything," said Rob Bentley, play-by-play voice at Ferris State. "He led our guys and our offense became tougher and tougher to stop as the year went on." 

Erickson was in the stands for every one of Chambliss' games at Ferris State. With the ball in his hands, Erickson saw his point guard dicing up defenses like he was back on the basketball court in Forest Hills. Just with a few more pounds. 

"Having to read the pick and roll, hitting the slip on a screen, it's just like football," Erickson said. "You just read the defender. He's spent his whole life dealing with reads." 

On Dec. 21, 2024, Chambliss scored five touchdowns as Ferris State obliterated Valdosta State 49-14 to win the national championship. The Bulldogs capped off a 14-game winning streak after Pittsburg State. Chambliss finished No. 3 in the Harlon Hill voting (the Division II Heisman) and was named the GLIAC Player of the Year. 

Weeks after the title, Chambliss' trainer, Steve Calhoun, suggested that he could have opportunities at a higher level. Annese had little question that Chambliss built himself into a power conference talent through his work in the program. In fact, it was Chambliss and his family who were most stressed by the decision to leave Ferris State and a coach in Annese who had become like a second father to Trinidad. 

"I wanted to make sure that wherever I went, I felt comfortable," Chambliss said. "I wanted to feel at home, have great relationships and go to a school that can really develop me as a player and also a person." 

CBS Sports reported that Temple's new staff made a big pitch for Chambliss, raising $300,000 and rolling out the red carpet. Unfortunately, he never arrived. Ole Miss made a significant offer to get him on campus, even though it was likely as a backup to rising star Austin Simmons. 

Annese talked Chambliss through the decision, warning him that there was no guaranteed pathway to playing time. There was a fair chance that his eligibility would simply expire on the bench. But through relationships with Kiffin, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. and quarterbacks coach Joe Judge, Chambliss was convinced to take the leap, signing onto the SEC dreams that he and Lee bonded over. It just felt right. 

"He liked Coach Kiffin and the staff," Annese said. "He said to me, 'Coach, it reminds me of Ferris.'" 

IV. The Full Circle

Trinidad was no stranger to big moments, but getting the start against No. 4 LSU was special.

Trent Chambliss grew up in South Bend, Indiana, where Brian Kelly used to lead Notre Dame. Kelly was also a legendary Division II coach at Grand Valley State, one of Ferris State's chief rivals. The ties were endless. 

Across Grand Rapids, people gathered to watch Chambliss. Erickson pulled some couches together in a friend's garage. Dozens from around the neighborhood joined after hearing the cheers of the people who shaped him. Soules hosted a few basketball coaches at his place and put up a projector by the pool. 

"It's almost brought everyone closer together," Erickson said. 

Before the season even started, Lee texted Chambliss and circled Ferris State's bye week of Sept. 27. That's when he would make the trip down to Oxford, Mississippi, to watch him play in the Southeastern Conference, just like they always dreamed. Of course, even after losing eight players from Division II to the FBS level, Ferris State is still No. 1 in the nation and undefeated. The machine keeps churning. 

When the trip was scheduled, Lee assumed he would be watching Chambliss on the sidelines of a big-time game. Instead, after Simmons suffered an ankle injury in Week 2, Lee and former teammate Noah Kindle were on pins-and-needles making the 12-hour trek into the Deep South. 

As they pulled into Oxford, Trinidadian flags dotted the landscape in support of Chambliss -- on houses, sign posts, T-shirts. Chambliss has become larger than life at Ole Miss, enough so that it's even made waves in the country of Trinidad. Chambliss has no connection to the island, but now dreams of going. 

When Lee and Kindle pull to his door, college football's newest star welcomed them into his home, still the same smiling, humble young man. 

"That's one of the things that makes him special," Lee said. "He'll never change on his friends, especially the people he calls his brothers. He'll never change." 

Chambliss was unbelievable against one of the toughest defenses in the SEC, throwing for 314 yards, rushing for 71 yards and scoring a touchdown in a hard-fought 24-19 victory over LSU. After the game, he pointed to his emotional Ferris State teammates in the stands. This was everything they worked for. 

Now, Chambliss is one of the stories of college football. In four starts, he has been sensational, posting 1,227 yards passing, 260 yards rushing and nine total touchdowns. The 371.8 total yards per game would lead the nation, and his QBR ranks eighth. After entering the season as a backup, he ranks No. 7 in the Heisman Trophy odds, ahead of former five-star recruit Dante Moore at Oregon. Chambliss was a zero-star recruit. 

"He's just done a great job and really risen to the occasion," Kiffin said. "He's made big plays in big situations for us. We expected him to do it, and he did." 

Following the win against LSU, Ole Miss rose to No. 4 in the AP Top 25, the program's highest ranking in a decade, and enter the battle against No. 9 Georgia at No. 5. The Rebels boast plus odds to make the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. The program's first SEC Championship since 1963 is within grasp. 

Through it all, Chambliss carries the lessons of his trials. Out of his roots have borne a mighty oak. And with Georgia next on the schedule, his first big road test in front of nearly 100,000 screaming fans, the people who made him know he's ready for whatever comes next. 

"I think the mental and physical maturity have aligned, which often happens with young men," Soules said. "There's got to be a little bit of realism that four years ago, he's not the same Trinidad Chambliss. He's matured and he's grown and spent time at Ferris State building his toolbox, both as a man and a football player.

"Now the country and the world gets to see it."