Trinidad Chambliss, Kewan Lacy and Will Echoles will be the Ole Miss representatives at SEC Media Days next week in Tampa, Fla., giving the Rebels a trio that should draw plenty of attention when the microphones come out.
Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding and his players are scheduled to speak to the media on July 22. SEC Media Days runs July 20-23 and will be held at the Tampa Marriott Water Street and JW Marriott, with coverage on the SEC Network.
Chambliss is the headliner. He put together one of the most electric seasons Ole Miss has ever seen from a quarterback last year, helping lead the Rebels to a national semifinal appearance. He threw for nearly 4,000 yards with 22 touchdowns and just three interceptions, and he added more than 500 rushing yards and eight more scores on the ground.
He is also expected to face plenty of questions about his eligibility battle with the NCAA, a situation that involved a lawsuit and a local court injunction to allow his ability to play in 2026.
Lacy arrives in Tampa after a historic year of his own. He piled up 1,567 rushing yards and set a school record with 24 touchdowns. He has already picked up preseason All American and All SEC recognition, and he could leave Media Days with even more attention from coaches and the media.
Echoles rounds out the group and brings a different kind of presence. The Mississippi native is viewed as the heart and soul of the Ole Miss defense, and his personality stands out as much as his play. Last season, he recorded 32 tackles and five sacks while working in a deep defensive line rotation, and he is expected to be one of the leaders on that side of the ball this season.
Last year’s Ole Miss contingent at SEC Media Days featured Austin Simmons, Cayden Lee and TJ Dottery, and all three are now at other SEC schools.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Just Added A Messy New Twist To LSU Rivalry Week
Ole Miss has found itself in the middle of an unusual post-portal dispute as it tries to sort out buyout money tied to new revenue-sharing contracts. The school says former players who signed those deals before leaving for the transfer portal owe payments, and athletic director Keith Carter has made clear the Rebels are looking at every avenue to collect what they believe is due.
The wrinkle for rivalry week is that the issue could spill beyond the usual recruiting and roster chatter, with Carter noting court action is one possible path and even suggesting LSU could end up involved on the payment side. The enforcement of these contracts is still unsettled, which leaves Ole Miss navigating a new kind of offseason headache while the broader college sports world watches to see how seriously these agreements will hold up. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss May Have An SEC Mismatch Pete Golding Needed Most
Pete Goldings first Ole Miss team is taking shape in a way that should matter immediately in the SEC. After Lane Kiffin and several staff members departed for LSU, the Rebels have responded by reinforcing the defense through the transfer portal while keeping the offenses most important pieces in place, giving the new coach a roster that still looks capable of competing right away.
The biggest reason for optimism is the balance Ole Miss can bring back in 2026. Trinidad Chambliss remains the kind of dual-threat quarterback who can keep a defense honest, and Kewan Lacy returns after a record-setting season that gave the Rebels a true feature back. Add in the portal help on defense, and Golding may have inherited a lineup that gives him a real chance to avoid the kind of transition-year drop-off that usually follows a coaching change. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Might Have The SECs Most Overlooked Receiver Room
Ole Miss has spent enough time building around its passing game that the receiver room no longer looks like a side note, even if it still may be flying a little under the SEC radar. Deuce Alexander gives the Rebels a proven target, Caleb Cunningham brings the kind of upside that makes coaches dream on the future, and Caleb Odom adds a different body type and skill set that can stress defenses in the red zone and beyond. Layer in the transfer help, and the group starts to look less like a collection of names and more like a plan.
Darrell Gill Jr., Johntay Cook II and Horatio Fields give the Rebels even more ways to mix and match personnel, which is the real appeal here. This is the sort of room that can win with speed, size, route polish or sheer mismatch potential, and the question now is not whether Ole Miss has options, but which of them will emerge as the most reliable when the games start to matter. [Read more 🡒]