If you watched Ole Miss out-score Arkansas 41-35 Saturday night, you know this: Rebel quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, a transfer Division II from Ferris (Michigan) State, can play. He is the real deal. He can run. He can throw. He has the “it” factor.

The Ole Miss roster lists Chambliss  at 6-foot-1, and he might be 6 feet tall in his spikes, which is probably why he played first at Ferris State and not at Michigan or Michigan State. But he runs like a halfback, and throws with accuracy and zip. He makes good decisions, and he makes plays. 

Chambliss led Ferris State to the Division II national championship last year throwing for a gazillion yards and running for a zillion more. He produced 51 touchdowns in a single football season, which is crazy good in any league.

But still, it’s a gigantic leap from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to the SEC. Chambliss has played before more fans in two SEC games than he did in his entire career at Ferris State, located in Big Rapids, Michigan, in the west central part of the state. The Ferris State stadium is called a field and seats about 6,000, although that many seats are rarely needed.

Chambliss played well in relief duty a week earlier when Ole Miss starter Austin Simmons suffered an ankle injury at Kentucky. Making his first SEC start against Arkansas, he threw for 353 yards and a touchdown and ran 62 yards and two touchdowns. He was, in a word, terrific. Lane Kiffin will have an interesting decision to make when Simmons regains his health. It won’t be easy to sit Chambliss back down.

The guess here is we might see Chambliss set a trend across college football. It wouldn’t surprise me if there aren’t a lot more DII players who make the jump. This much I know: There have been plenty of DII players in the past, some right here in Mississippi, who could have played at the next level. 

Exhibit A would be Josh Bright, the splendid Delta State quarterback, who led the Statesmen to the 2000 DII national championship and won the Conerly Trophy in the process. Bright ran coach Steve Campbell’s option offense to perfection, running and passing for more than 1,000 yards. Asked Sunday whether Bright could have played in the SEC, Campbell, who has since coached at several Division I schools, laughed before answering. “You know he could have, you saw him” Campbell said. “Not a doubt in my mind. He was a no-brainer. All you had to do was watch him.”

But you don’t have to take it from Campbell – or me. Back then, I happened to be working on a book with legendary Ole Miss coach John Vaught, who watched on TV as Bright put up 63 points in the national championship game. Said Vaught of Bright, “He damned sure could have played quarterback for me,”

Said Campbell, “We had some other players who could have played at the highest level. Rico McDonald, a running back on that championship team, could have played anywhere in the country.”

At least two other recent Delta State quarterbacks likely could have played big-time college football. Most recently, Patrick Shegog, almost exactly the same size as Chambliss, threw for 32 touchdowns and only two interceptions in 2023, leading the Statesmen to 10 wins. He, too, won the Conerly.

Scott Eyster, a four-year DSU starting quarterback, was a four-time finalist for the Conerly Trophy, a three-time All-American. He threw for 128 touchdowns in four years. That’s all. Ron Roberts, one of his DSU head coaches, is now the defensive coordinator at Florida and has also coached Baylor and Auburn. I texted Roberts Sunday morning, asking if Eyster could have played at the SEC level. “No doubt,” Roberts answered, and then he mentioned that Seth Adams, who played behind Eyster at DSU and transferred to Hinds Community College, eventually wound up starting at quarterback for Ole Miss.

Eyster, now the principal at Bay High in Bay St. Louis, says he has no regrets about his Delta State career, but knows in his heart he could have played DI football. He said he was contacted by Mississippi State about the possibility of transferring. “But back then, I would have had to sit out a year and there was no NIL money,” Eyster said. “It wasn’t worth it. Plus, I loved Delta State. They were good to me there. I have to admit, I’d be a lot more tempted now that you don’t have to sit out a season when you transfer and there’s all that NIL money.”

Fast Freddie McAfee could have played for anybody, too, when he helped Mississippi College to a DII national championship. Indeed, he did play for five different teams in a 16-year NFL career. Vicksburg native Malcolm Butler played his college football at DII West Alabama, before he became famous for making a Super Bowl-saving interception for the New England Patriots. 

Campbell, the national championship coach of Bright at Delta State, once played on a DII national championship at Troy State. He well remembers blocking a linebacker named Jessie Tuggle, who played at DII Valdosta State, before a long career with the Atlanta Falcons.

“Everybody should remember who Jessie Tuggle was,” Campbell said. “His name is on the stadium in Atlanta. He was a load.”

Tuggle probably was overlooked by the SEC powerhouses because he stood only 5 feet, 11 inches tall, which is still three inches taller than Sam Mills, the linebacker who is in both the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers halls of fame. Mills played his college football at Division III Montclair State.

“Here’s the deal,” Steve Campbell continued. “There are great players at every level of college football, especially at the skill positions. It would not surprise me at all if you see more players moving up a level with NIL and the portal.”