Ole Miss Rebels took their Heisman push to a new level on August 30, putting quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy on the Las Vegas Sphere. The move came a week before the Rebels’ season opener against Louisville and drew an immediate reaction from rival fans.
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The campaign is built around the #H6I5MEN name, taken from Chambliss’ No. 6 and Lacy’s No. 5 jerseys. It started in July with yard signs and bumper stickers around Oxford, moved to a two-week Times Square billboard run in late August, Now it includes the Sphere, which is the largest LED display in the world at 580,000 square feet. The display began at 11 a.m. CST and cycles through images of both players, tied directly to their cases as national award contenders ahead of the Rebels’ September 6 opener.
Ole Miss football’s official X page confirmed the rollout in real time, as the post read: “Putting #H6I5MEN on the world’s largest LED screen. Starting today at 11 AM CST/9 AM PST.”
A separate post from the same account had promoted the New York stop on August 25: “H6I5MEN x NYC. Look for Trinidad and Kewan in Times Square! #HottyToddy.”
Athletic director Keith Carter, who has spoken publicly about the campaign’s branding value, added his own support with a pair of red and blue circle emojis on his X account.
After an NYC Times Square campaign, the Sphere was the logical next step for a program already spending heavily on visibility. It offered a stage far bigger than a traditional billboard and gave Ole Miss a platform no other school has used for a Heisman campaign like this.
The production of the two key players who are the face of the campaign gave Ole Miss plenty to sell. Chambliss threw for 3,937 yards, with 22 passing and 8 rushing touchdowns last season, finishing eighth in Heisman voting, while Lacy ran for 1,567 yards and 24 touchdowns. Both led the SEC in their respective categories and helped the Rebels reach the College Football Playoff semifinals at 13-2.
However, the scale is exactly what set the rival fans off. LSU Tigers Hall of Famer Hal Juban, a 1960s linebacker and 1998 College Football Hall of Fame inductee, still had a rivalry jab nearly five decades later.
“What trash,” Juban commented.
His reaction clearly reflected the frustration of some longtime fans, who see the campaign as excessive before the players have even taken a snap this season.
“Heisman campaign before the first game is a choice,” another fan shared the same sentiment.
An OU Softball HR Tracker page took a jab at the cost of Ole Miss Sphere advertising, with some fans arguing that money could be better spent on retaining players through NIL deals. The campaign reportedly costs $450,000 for a single day or $650,000 for a week-long run.
“Do you know how many guys you could’ve brought back from the NFL with that kind of cash?” the OU Softball HR Tracker page commented.
Another rival fan questioned the campaign’s logic, pointing out that neither player is currently considered a favorite to win the award.
“Doing all this for something that clearly won’t happen is certainly interesting,” Luther Kulon Sr., a Mississippi State alum and fan, commented.
Another fan mocked the campaign’s reach, suggesting the expensive Sphere display may mean little to people outside the college football audience who would not recognize Chambliss, Lacy, or even the Ole Miss program.
“All the homeless people in Vegas not knowing who these guys are or who this high school team is,” an X user commented.
One fan warned that the buildup could come back to haunt Ole Miss, predicting the jokes and trolling would be endless if the Rebels fail to deliver on the field.
“Man the jokes and troll that are gonna come out from Ole Miss’s antics since last November is gonna be INSANE is they don’t win,” an X user wrote under the Ole Miss post.
The Heisman campaign has certainly put the Rebels in the spotlight before the season began. Now, the attention shifts from billboards and the Sphere to what happens on the field, where Ole Miss will have to back up the bold campaign with another big season. If the Rebels deliver, the spectacle will look like a smart promotion; if they don’t, rival fans will have plenty to say.