The Heisman campaigns for Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy launched on Tuesday, and you could almost feel the immediate reaction from the outside world.
Is it too much? Is it a distraction? Does it put pressure on two players who already carry a lot of it?
Pete Golding doesn’t think so. In fact, he sounded about as calm and unconcerned as a head coach can be.
“Individual accolades, in my opinion, come from team success,” Golding said. “It was based on the body of work from last season. Both guys had unique individual years because of a lot of really good players around them, and I think they would be the first ones to tell you that.”
That’s the core of his argument. If Chambliss and Lacy are in the Heisman conversation, Ole Miss is probably in the national championship conversation.
Those two things go hand‑in‑hand. You don’t get one without the other. And if the head coach is fine with the attention, the billboards, the graphics and the weekly Heisman chatter, everyone else should be fine with it too.
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Golding even went out of his way to explain why he isn’t worried.
“I think No. 5 (Lacy) would be the first one to tell you that if we need to throw it 60 times to win, then let’s throw it 60 times,” he said. “The concern from the outside is whether it becomes a distraction. Those two are wired the right way. I’m not concerned about how they’re going to practice or prepare.”
That’s the part fans sometimes forget. Chambliss and Lacy aren’t chasing numbers. They aren’t chasing highlight reels. They aren’t chasing a trophy at the expense of the team. They’re wired to win. Golding sees it every day, and he made it clear the Heisman push won’t change how they work.
“They’re going to do everything they can to win the football game, and they know that’s based on their preparation,” Golding said. “I have zero concern about it affecting them or becoming an issue.”
Ole Miss recently launched a Heisman campaign for both Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy.
I asked Lacy if he and Trinidad joke with each other about who has a better shot at the crown jewel.
You’ll appreciate his answer: pic.twitter.com/IipHLBOlXC
— Caleb Salers (@calebsalersstm) July 22, 2026
He framed the campaign as just another part of coaching. Not a distraction. Not a marketing stunt. Not a burden.
“I’m all about putting people in positions to have success, whatever that looks like,” Golding said. “It’s no different than preparing a player for the next 40 years of his life. It’s our responsibility to educate and equip them to have success.”
Chambliss and Lacy earned the spotlight. They earned the hype. They earned the right to be promoted as two of the best players in college football. And they’re still surrounded by the same system, the same staff and the same roster that helped them get there.
“You have two elite players coming off really good years,” Golding said. “They still have a lot of good players around them and are in the same system, so they’re set up to have another good year.”
So if Golding isn’t worried, why should anyone else be?
The Heisman campaigns aren’t a distraction. They’re a sign of where Ole Miss is as a program. If Chambliss and Lacy stay in the race deep into November, it means Ole Miss is exactly where it wants to be.
And that’s the whole point.
