The Conerly Trophy bragging rights belong to Ole Miss for the second straight year with Rebel quarterback Trinidad Chambliss being named the top college football player in Mississippi on Tuesday night.
Ahead of the 2025 campaign, the idea of Chambliss even being considered for the award would have dumbfounded anybody who paid attention to the Ole Miss football program before the opening game. Once last year’s Conerly winner, Jaxson Dart, was drafted by the New York Giants, all eyes were on Austin Simmons. Eyes quickly shifted away from the sophomore southpaw and onto Chambliss when Simmons suffered a week-two ankle injury at Kentucky.
From there, Chambliss became the talk of the town both in Oxford and across the college football scene, and even had an AI reggae song made in his honor. A Division II Ferris State transfer, Chambliss was heading to Temple before being heavily pursued by the Rebels, then ultimately decided to be Simmons’ backup. Once the backup tag was lifted and the former DII national champion was able to showcase his skillset, Chambliss took the sport by storm.
A breakout performance versus Arkansas was followed by wins over Tulane, LSU, Washington State, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Florida, and a presumptive College Football Playoff-clinching Egg Bowl victory over Mississippi State. The team’s lone loss came against a top-four Georgia team, and even then, Chambliss had a solid performance on the stat sheet.
On the year, Chambliss has tallied 3,016 passing yards, complemented by 18 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. A dual-threat weapon, he has also logged 470 yards and 6 scores on the ground. Though Chambliss’ memorable season has been marred by former Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin’s decision to jump from a ship he attempted to burn for another opportunity at LSU, the Rebels will see their beloved quarterback compete in at least one more game before the current campaign concludes.
Other players up for the award were Brenen Thompson (Mississippi State), Braylon Braxton (Southern Miss), JaCobian Morgan (Jackson State), Jacorian Sewell (Alcorn State), Josh Brown (Mississippi Valley State), William Carter IV (Delta State), Wyatt Beck (Belhaven), and Grant Bizjack (Millsaps).
Though they were not handed the crown jewel for football players in Mississippi, Morgan and William Carter IV did not go unawarded on Tuesday night. Morgan, after tossing for 1,175 yards and 10 touchdowns while only coughing it up to the other team twice, was awarded the inaugural SWAC Impact Award. On the ground, he has logged 254 yards and a pair of scores, helping lead the Tigers to the SWAC Championship, even when battling injuries throughout the season.
Carter, on the other hand, was handed the first Division II/III Excellence Award after logging 59 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 2 fumble recoveries this year. He was a force for veteran Delta State head coach Todd Cooley in a 2025 season that ended controversially for the Statesmen.
