Lane Kiffin Praises 'Little, Short Kid' Trinidad Chambliss After Ole Miss' Win vs. LSU

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin appears to have found a diamond in the rough in Division II transfer quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who led the No. 13 Rebels to a 24-19 upset win over No. 4 LSU on Saturday.

Chambliss, who once again got the start in place of injured starting signal-caller Austin Simmons, outshined Tigers senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier by throwing for 314 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 23-of-39 passing while adding 71 rushing yards on 14 carries. Per ESPN's Heather Dinich, he is now "the first SEC player with 300 passing yards and 50 rushing yards in three consecutive games over the past 30 years."

After the win, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin praised the 6'0" Chambliss for his impressive outing against a top-five team and a quarterback who's projected to be a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft, as Nussmeier was held to a career-low 197 passing yards.

"This is a really cool story," Kiffin said at the 5:40 mark. "I like good stories. Here's a little, short kid from Division II going against Nussmeier and the mighty Tigers with Ole Miss. It was really cool."

Chambliss has performed so well in place of Simmons that Kiffin didn't rule out the possibility of him being the Rebels' full-time starting quarterback for the remainder of the season.

"We've got a bye week coming up," Kiffin said. "It's a good problem to have. I don't have that answer right now, and I don't need to have it right now. We have two really good quarterbacks. That's a really good thing to have. You see around the country, people usually when they lose their quarterback, their team changes a lot. And Austin got hurt, and we're still able to play the way that we played."

Chambliss, who transferred to Ole Miss from Ferris State after leading the team to its third Division II national title in the last four years, is enjoying his newfound time in the spotlight.

"It's like a dream come true," Chambliss said. "... It's an amazing accomplishment. Got to thank God for that one, he's been with me the whole time. I've got to thank Coach Kiffin, the whole staff here at Ole Miss for giving me the opportunity to come here and showcase my skill set, showcase what I can do. Great athletes, just an amazing support staff. It's a dream come true."

Ole Miss will try to earn its sixth straight win to start the season when it returns to action on Oct. 11 against Washington State (3-2).