Two years ago, Trinidad Chambliss played his first college football game.
“He was horrible,’’ said Tony Annese, his coach at Ferris State University, with a chuckle. “If you would have watched his first game, you would have said that kid would never play at any level.”
But the seeds of who Chambliss is now were sown at the 6,200-seat Top Taggart Field, under the guidance of a man who has won more four-year college games (153) than three of the four semifinal coaches combined.
Chambliss was much like the high school kids Annese had coached: Not necessarily prototypical but more than good enough. Athletically gifted, he was the all-everything kid at Forest Hills Northern in nearby Grand Rapids – the quarterback in the fall, point guard in the winter and shortstop in the spring.
But at 6-foot-1-inch and 170 pounds, he was small for a quarterback, and – burdened with the additional year of the Covid-19 pandemic recruiting blanket – no one was terribly interested.
But Annese, who also coached high school basketball, liked the way the point guard saw the court and directed his teammates. He saw in his play the sort of leadership he believed a quarterback ought to possess.
In his first game, Chambliss threw a pick on his fourth play from scrimmage and another before halftime. He got sacked twice, rushing for all of -4 yards and Ferris State lost its opener.
“It was the pressure,’’ Annese said. “He was feeling the pressure. I just told him, ‘Son, relax. You’re going to be great.’”
He leads Ole Miss into the semifinals on Thursday night. Read more about Chambliss’ journey.