NCAA eligibility is the hot button topic right now.
From the NCAA’s decision to adopt a new age-based eligibility model to the lawsuits filed against it to the current drama surrounding professional athletes returning to college, that’s what people are talking about just days before the first full Saturday of games.
Thursday will be a turning point in that conversation because that’s when the SEC and commissioner Greg Sankey are set to appear before a Louisiana judge to argue against players such as Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris returning to the college ranks.
During all this hoopla one current Ole Miss player’s name keeps getting mentioned: Trinidad Chambliss.
Chambliss made his eligibility headlines this offseason, winning a preliminary injunction to be eligible to play this season. Fans of other teams (mostly LSU) try to paint Ole Miss as hypocrites because of Chambliss’ case.
But as we helped explain to Louisiana governor Jeff Landry when he asked what the difference between Chambliss and Wright’s eligibility cases, they’re not the same. Chambliss was still in college when his case was heard. Wright was at the Cleveland Browns’ training camp.
However, we’re in a world truths and details don’t matter. Perception is what matters most and LSU fans are attempting to make it seem like all eligibility cases are the same.
There is one person, though, who isn’t listening to any of this talk: Chambliss.
Asked Tuesday about the current drama, Chambliss gave the answer you’d expect to hear.
“I’ve seen it on social media and stuff, but that’s not where my attention is right now,” Chambliss said. “I’m really not worried about that. I’m just worried about Louisville and making sure our team is as prepared as possible to be successful out there.”
That’s the mindset every player and coach should have right now. The season is four sleeps away (five for Ole Miss) from starting. But we have at least one coach who must not believe his team is good enough to compete for a championship in its current state.
So, here we are. And, no, don’t expect the attempted comparisons between Chambliss and the NFL-to-college players to stop.
Again, there’s one person not listening to that talk though: Chambliss.
“People are going to say what they want to say,” Chambliss said when asked about people comparing his situation to the ones of ex-NFLers. “They’re always going to have a narrative or an opinion about you, but I really don’t give that any mind. I don’t really think about it because, at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what I think and what my team thinks.”
The courtroom battles will continue this week and, depending on what happens in a Louisiana court room, the shiny objects that are actual games won’t be enough to distract everyone.
Chambliss and Ole Miss don’t need the shiny objects to distract them. Based on what he and coach Pete Golding have said, the Rebels’ focus is where it needs to be.
On No. 24 Louisville at 7 p.m. Sunday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
