For all the chaos that the transfer portal has wrought, you have to appreciate the platform it’s given some players that otherwise wouldn’t have a stage to shine on. After all, Diego Pavia had to go through junior college and New Mexico State before Vanderbilt gave him a chance. Now in his second season in Nashville, he’s become one of the most talked about players in college football and was in contention for the Heisman Trophy entering Week 10.
But after Vanderbilt’s loss to Texas on Saturday, he might be out of the race, which opens the door for another dark horse to root for. The only person that could enter a crowded Heisman race as a dark horse is Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, and for reasons similar to Pavia, it’s easy to root for his success.
You could argue that Haynes King would be a good replacement, but with Georgia Tech losing, the only one left is Chambliss. He could have a similar path, like Pavia, to stardom with a unique path to one of the best conferences in all of college football.
Why Trinidad Chambliss is the next dark horse you should be rooting for
What Trinidad Chambliss has done at Ole Miss this season has been incredible, considering he wasn’t even their starting quarterback when the season began. When Austin Simmons got hurt, Chambliss had the perfect chance to prove why Lane Kiffin plucked him out the transfer portal from Division II Ferris State. He has the same story as Pavia, taking the road less traveled to get to the big stage.
It’s hard not to want Chambliss to continue to dominate the SEC. He won a national championship at Ferris State and now he can turn Ole Miss into an FBS national champion. In his first season in Oxford, Chambliss has 2,023 passing yards with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions; on the ground he has 435 rushing yards and six rushing scores.
When the season started, there probably weren't too many people that knew who he was or if he would translate well in the SEC after playing against Division II talent. Now he has ninth-best odds (+4000) to win college football’s highest individual award. The best place for him to land was Ole Miss because there’s no better offensive mind to mold him into a behemoth in college football than Kiffin.
What Trinidad Chambliss has to do to crash the Heisman Trophy race
Chambliss would have to look otherworldly in order to get in the thick of the Heisman race and contend with the likes of Fernando Mendoza or Ty Simpson as a true favorite. For one, he’d have to help Ole Miss reach the SEC title game and the College Football Playoff. That means the Rebels can’t slip up in their next three games against The Citadel, Florida and Mississippi State.
This season, Chambliss has thrown for 250 or more yards in every game this year except for Saturday’s tilt against South Carolina, where he threw for 159. He also has four games this year with over 300 passing yards. Say what you want, Chambliss has been playing at a really high level this season. And if he continues to dominate over the next three weeks, he could make a case for an invitation to New York.
Even then, he may not have enough time to make up for missing the beginning of the season. What Simpson and Mendoza have done this year will be hard to top. Even if he plays at an elite level, it might not be enough. Either way, he’s worth rooting for because like Pavia, he wasn’t a player that garnered a lot of attention in the recruiting process.
It’s easy to root for the underdogs and if Chambliss can rise to Heisman relevance it would be hard to not want him to win. He’d be the first player to ever go from Division II to Heisman winner in their collegiate career; who doesn’t love a story like that?