Ole Miss didn’t waste any time getting the preseason hype train rolling for Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy.
The Heisman campaign launch before SEC Media Days was the first big push, a clear signal that the Rebels believe they have two of the most electric players in the country.
And on Monday, that train made its next stop: the Maxwell Award watch list.
The Maxwell Football Club named Chambliss and Lacy among the players to watch for the 90th Maxwell Award, which goes to the most outstanding offensive player in college football. It’s another preseason honor for a duo that will have a large pile of them this month.
Chambliss was a semifinalist for the award last season, and he enters 2026 as one of the top returning quarterbacks in the country. He threw for 3,937 yards and 22 touchdowns, ran for 527 yards and eight more scores, and turned Ole Miss into a College Football Playoff team.
He’s already on the preseason All‑SEC First Team, and every national outlet that has put out a list this summer has found a way to include his name.
Lacy’s resume is just as strong. He set program records with 1,567 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns last season, earned first team All‑America honors and finished as a Doak Walker Award finalist. His 2026 preseason haul already includes a first team All‑SEC nod, and now he’s on the Maxwell list too.
Together, they make Ole Miss one of only 16 programs with multiple players on the watch list.
That’s not a small thing. It’s another sign that the Rebels aren’t sneaking up on anyone this fall. They’re expected to be good, expected to score, expected to look like a team with two legitimate national award candidates.
Semifinalists for the Maxwell Award will be announced November 10, finalists on November 24 and the winner on December 10 during the ESPN College Football Awards Show. Chambliss and Lacy will have every chance to stay in the conversation all season.
Ole Miss opens the year September 6 against Louisville in Nashville.
The hype train will be rolling into Nissan Stadium at full speed, and Monday’s news was just the latest sign that it won’t be slowing down anytime soon.
