Ole Miss has not one but two Heisman hopefuls going into the upcoming college football season, and the university’s athletics department has kicked off a campaign to promote both players for the crown jewel of awards.
Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy walked into SEC Media Days on Wednesday as two of the hottest commodities in the conference. The star quarterback and running back, respectively, ended the 2025-26 campaign as two of the most well-known names in college football and approach the fall with the spotlight shining on them. And as for their Heisman campaign, the two players are taking a selfless approach and supporting each other.
There is no internal competition to win the award, nor are there playful jokes between the two about who has the best odds at being named the top college football player in the country. Instead, Chambliss and Lacy are focused on doing their part individually to put Ole Miss in the best position to return to the College Football Playoff, and even win a national championship.
“I think it’s awesome. I’m nothing without Kewan. He’s my partner in crime. If he wins it, I’m hyped up,” Chambliss said, with Lacy adding, “We don’t say any jokes or anything like that. With me and him, we have such a good relationship. Whether he wins or I win, we’re all winning. At the end of the day, we’re going to push each other to be the best we can be.”
The result on the scoreboard matters more to Chambliss and Lacy than any individual accolade, and newly minted Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding has taken note of the approach he deems admirable. When asked about the Heisman campaign, Golding acknowledged that there is a natural concern about it becoming a sideshow, but he’s also seen the fruit of his two players’ work and has assurance that their priorities are in the right place.
“They’re working extremely hard, and we demand a lot out of them. But there are some of these individual awards for them that are important to them, and it’s not going to take away from what they need to do to win the football game,” Golding said. “I think [Lacy] will be the first one to tell you that. If we need to throw it 60 times to win, let’s throw it 60 times to win. Your concern, always outside looking in, is, hey, does this become a distraction? Those two are wired the right way. I’m not concerned with how they’re going to practice and prepare. They’re going to do everything they can to win the football game.”
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Chambliss wrapped up the 2025-26 season with nearly 4,500 all-purpose yards and 30 total touchdowns with just three turnovers. Lacy was an All-American who logged 1,567 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns on 306 carries. Each elected to run it back at Ole Miss rather than following former head coach Lane Kiffin to LSU, and have remained fan favorites in Oxford because of that decision.
Now, the two will continue putting in work ahead of the Sept. 6 regular season opener versus Louisville. And, proving Golding right, Lacy said that he and Chambliss are too focused on mastering their game and pushing one another to improve daily to the point that the Heisman campaign is not even a viable distraction that could cause them to stumble.
“I feel like the culture we’ve built at Ole Miss — me and Trinidad and everybody else there — we all have the right mindset,” Lacy said. “We won’t let any outside noise distract us from getting better today or push us to be the best [we can be].”