Ole Miss has one of the best leaders in the nation with Trinidad Chambliss. After Chambliss led the Rebels to the College Football Playoff semifinals in the 2025 season, Pete Golding has full trust in the quarterback for the upcoming season.
Why Pete Golding Is Praising Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss’ Leadership
Chambliss continues to draw strong praise from within the Ole Miss program, and Golding made that clear during his appearance on “The Paul Finebaum Show” on Wednesday.
When asked by Paul Finebaum about how the Ole Miss Rebels had been shaped under Chambliss’ leadership, Golding spoke highly of the quarterback’s journey.
“I think you’re talking about a kid that came Division II into the SEC knowing we had our guy already, with one year left potentially at that point,” Golding said. “So the kid bets on himself, and he does everything the right way. And I think he earned our team’s trust last summer without being the guy. People naturally gravitate to him.
“But the kid’s competitive character. You see it on TV, but we get to see it every day, and guys want to be around him. He doesn’t ask anything of them that he doesn’t do. He’s in the building all the time. Joe Judge does an unbelievable job with him. J.D.B. is transitioning with him. That’s been really good to see throughout the spring. But he’s a kid who loves football. He’s tough, he’s competitive, and his teammates want to play for him.”
The buildup to the 2026 season has been challenging and unique for Chambliss, as a court-ordered injunction granted him an additional year of eligibility. It allowed him to return to Oxford instead of entering the NFL Draft, where he had been projected as a potential first-round selection.
Chambliss threw for 3,937 yards with 22 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions, completing 66.1% of his passes in the 2025 season. He also proved his dual-threat caliber by contributing 527 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns on the ground. He also finished eighth in the 2025 Heisman Trophy voting and earned a 90.3 grade in PFSN’s College Football QB Impact Metric, ranking fifth in the country.
With Chambliss returning for 2026, Ole Miss is seen as a dangerous team with a strong chance of making a run at the College Football Playoff. He has a full offseason ahead to build chemistry with Baker further, and expectations for his performance are only rising.
Chambliss is already being considered among the top quarterback prospects for the 2027 NFL Draft. He is placed 6th overall among quarterbacks, behind names like Dante Moore, Arch Manning, and Darian Mensah in way-too-early 2027 NFL Draft QB rankings, per PFSN’s Mock Draft Simulator.
