Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss Begins Camp With a New Supporting Cast

The 2026 season marks the return of Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss for the start of preseason practice as perhaps the most decorated returning player in all of college football.

Although there will be quite a few differences in the team around him compared to the one that saw the Rebels advance to the College Football Playoff semifinals just last year.

While there is plenty of change ahead of him, there is also some continuity for Chambliss as well.

Star running back Kewan Lacy returns

Chambliss and Lac — Dec 20, 2025; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (6) and running back Kewan Lacy (5) warm up prior to a game against the Tulane Green Wave at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There is at least one certainty going into camp in Oxford: that’s Kewan Lacy. The junior running back was the leading rusher in school history in 2025 with 1,567 rushing yards and 24 rushing touchdowns, earning first-team All-American accolades and an invite to become a finalist for the Doak Walker Award.

Instead of declaring for the NFL Draft, Lacy opted to return to Oxford, and Ole Miss did not waste much time capitalizing on the choice, as a joint Heisman Trophy push featuring both Lacy and Chambliss kicked off in the offseason, complete with a campaign slogan of “Trinidad, Kewan ‘26” in the form of signs and bumper stickers.

Lacy and Chambliss both found their way onto the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award as well, making the duo the most productive return combination of quarterback and running back in the country after combining for over 6,000 yards of total offense in 2025 — something very few power conference combinations have accomplished since the turn of the century.

The new OC: John David Baker

Like Chambliss, the coaching staff saw a change of faces too. With Lane Kiffin leaving for LSU after the Playoff and longtime offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. joining Kiffin, Ole Miss hired John David Baker to be the team's permanent offensive coordinator for the 2026 season under head coach Pete Golding.

It should be noted that Baker isn't an unfamiliar name to Ole Miss — he was an interim offensive coordinator for the last part of the 2025 season, and also an offensive coordinator and tight ends coach from 2021 to 2023.

Baker spent the 2024-2025 seasons as offensive coordinator for East Carolina, and the offense ranked 15th nationally in total offense during those two years. Baker said that his offense will be around 80% continuity compared to what Ole Miss did before, which consists of balance, physicality, and a quarterback-oriented attack.

He mentioned that it's rather hard to recruit using the transfer portal when the eligibility of Chambliss was still pending in the courts of law at that time because the receivers wanted to know the quarterback first. In the end, the state court judge ordered that Chambliss's eligibility for 2026.

New portal weapons

Two new Rebel — Syracuse wide receiver Darrell Gill Jr. (15) and Syracuse wide receiver Johntay Cook (2) celebrate a touchdown by Cook during the Aflac Kickoff Game between the Volunteers and Syracuse held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga., on August 30, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

With De’Zhaun Stribling and Harrison Wallace III gone to the NFL, Ole Miss took advantage of the transfer portal in changing up its receiver room.

Notable newcomers in the group include two from the Syracuse Orange: Johntay Cook II, a five-star recruit from Texas who had 45 receptions for 549 yards during his sole year at Syracuse, and Darrell Gill Jr., an imposing route runner who had 32 receptions for 506 yards and five touchdowns during his time at Syracuse last fall.

Joining those two transfers is the Auburn transfer Horatio Fields, along with Cameron Miller from Kentucky and Isaiah Spencer from Virginia Tech.

They will compete alongside returning veteran Deuce Alexander, who hauled in 44 passes during his sophomore year, and tight end Luke Hasz. While coaches have lauded Cook for his separation ability at all three levels and Gill for his precision in the intermediate part of the field, the challenge of establishing timing with Chambliss will be key at camp because so many of these receivers haven’t worked with him.

With Lacy's track record for productivity, Baker's offense, and a revamped receiving unit that is yet to gel, Ole Miss goes into the preseason with high hopes and plenty of unknowns heading into September.

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