Trinidad Chambliss didn’t make Phil Steele’s preseason All-American teams. Don’t expect him to lose sleep over it.
Phil Steele’s annual preseason magazine named six Ole Miss players to his All-American lists, but the Rebels’ quarterback wasn’t one of them.
Steele went with Dante Moore of Oregon on the first team, followed by Arch Manning of Texas, Julian Sayin of Ohio State and CJ Carr of Notre Dame. Chambliss was left off entirely.
Fans of the Rebs noticed. That’s understandable.
Chambliss is coming off a season that had Ole Miss one play away from competing for a national title. The Rebels won a program-record 13 games. Their quarterback was a big reason why.
But here’s the thing about preseason All-American teams … they don’t mean much.
They’re educated guesses built on reputation, returning stats and expectations. The awards that actually matter come after the season ends, when voters have 12 or 13 games of evidence in front of them instead of a magazine deadline.
Chambliss ranked No. 7 in ESPN’s ranking of top players from the 2025 season. That’s the kind of recognition that follows performance, not predictions. If he plays the way he’s capable of playing, the postseason hardware will take care of itself.
The best thing that can happen to a quarterback with something to prove is getting passed over early. It’s fuel.
Six Rebels made the cut
While Chambliss was left off, his teammates weren’t forgotten. Six Ole Miss players landed on Steele’s lists, and the group covers nearly every phase of the game.
Running back Kewan Lacy and kicker Lucas Carneiro earned first-team honors.
Defensive tackle William Echoles, offensive lineman Patrick Kutas and linebacker Suntarine Perkins landed on the third team. Baylor transfer linebacker Keaton Thomas checked in as a fourth-team selection.
It’s a really good haul for a program that’s clearly viewed as a legitimate national contender heading into 2026. The recognition reflects what Ole Miss did last season and what people around college football expect to happen again.
Lacy turned down more money from LSU and Texas to come back to Oxford for another run. That decision alone tells you how seriously he and the program are taking this season.
He shattered school records in his first year as the featured back and is already drawing Heisman and NFL Draft attention. He also ranked No. 20 in ESPN’s top players list from 2025.
Nagging injuries slowed him late last year, so Ole Miss added depth through the transfer portal. Makhi Frazier emerged as his primary backup during spring practice.
The Rebels don’t need Lacy to carry the entire offense anymore, and that might actually make him more dangerous.
Carneiro was nearly automatic in his first season after transferring from Western Kentucky, converting 31 of 35 field-goal attempts. He was 14 of 17 from 40 yards or longer.
In the College Football Playoff, he drilled four field goals of 50-plus yards, including the game-winner against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
That’s what a first-team preseason All-American kicker looks like.
Echoles might be Rebels’ best player
The case for Echoles as Ole Miss’ most valuable player is a real conversation worth having.
Lacy is the biggest name. Chambliss runs the offense. But Echoles was one of the most disruptive interior defenders in all of college football last season.
He led all Power 4 defensive tackles with 39 quarterback pressures, finished with 68 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks. Like Lacy, he’s drawing first-round NFL Draft projections.
“Will Echoles is a really elite player,” Ole Miss coach Pete Golding said.
The Rebs reinforced the defensive line around him by signing five transfers in edge rushers Blake Purchase from Oregon and Jonathan Maldonado from Nevada, plus interior linemen Jordan Renaud from Alabama, Michai Boireau from Florida and Jehiem Oatis from Colorado.
Renaud missed spring practice with a pre-existing injury but is expected back for fall camp.
Perkins gives Ole Miss another defensive standout to build around. He finished 10th in the SEC in tackles with 81 and added 12.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks last season. As a sophomore, he tied for the team lead in tackles for loss at 14.0 and sacks at 10.5.
The Rebels added linebackers Luke Ferrelli, Thomas and Tah’j Butler through the portal, which could free Perkins to get after quarterbacks more often.
Kutas anchors an experienced interior offensive line that also includes center Brycen Sanders and guard Delano Townsend.
He earned the Hull Trophy, given annually to Mississippi’s top college offensive lineman, after steadily improving throughout the 2025 season. With both starting tackles gone, his versatility to slide outside makes him even more valuable.
Thomas gives Ole Miss a ready-made leader at linebacker from day one. The Baylor transfer finished last season one tackle shy of back-to-back 100-tackle campaigns.
Golding has praised his football IQ and ability to erase mistakes with his closing speed. Thomas will wear the green dot and handle play-calling responsibilities on the field, the same role he had at Baylor. He was so locked in during spring practice that Ole Miss had to dial back his intensity.
Chambliss doesn’t need a preseason honor
Getting left off a preseason list isn’t a slight that needs to be corrected with words. It gets corrected between the lines on Saturday afternoons.
Chambliss watched four quarterbacks get picked ahead of him by Phil Steele. He ranked No. 7 among all players in ESPN’s 2025 season rankings, ahead of every one of Steele’s preseason picks. That context matters.
Preseason All-American selections are built on narrative and projection. The players who earn those honors after the season are the ones who actually did it when it counted.
If Ole Miss makes another playoff run and Chambliss leads the way, nobody will be talking about what Phil Steele’s magazine said in June.
The Rebels came within a play of their first national title run since the 1960s. They’ve got Lacy back and also Carneiro. They’ve got Echoles and Perkins and a rebuilt linebacker room.
Expectations aren’t just high for Chambliss, they’re high for the entire program.
That’s a much better problem to have than being on a preseason list.
