Trinidad Chambliss' rise from Division II Ferris State to leader of Mississippi's run to the College Football Playoff semifinals was one of the top storylines of the 2025 season, and Mason McKenzie followed it with keen interest.
McKenzie was the starting quarterback the past two seasons as Saginaw Valley State, which plays in the same Michigan-based conference as Ferris State, and he hopes to follow a similar path. He is the front-runner for the job at Boston College and among 30 Division II players who have transferred to Power Four programs in the most recent cycle, according to tracking by 247Sports.
The Caledonia, Michigan, native, excelled at Saginaw Valley, and his determination to make the move up grew as he watched what Chambliss did with his opportunity at Mississippi.
"Believe me, I was his biggest supporter all year," McKenzie said. "Him doing well definitely opened up a lot more doors for me and guys at our level."
FOX 17 Blitz
Mason McKenzie commits to Saginaw Valley
In this new era of revenue sharing, Power Four and Group of Six coaches have begun mining the lower divisions for players they think can contribute but perhaps not command as much pay as transfers making lateral moves.
Coaches say a lot of high school players who ordinarily would have signed with FBS and FCS programs before 2020 were pushed down to Division II because the pandemic created an abundance of six-year players across the sport. The COVID-19 eligibility exemption has phased out, but going forward there will be fewer Division I opportunities because of the 105-player roster limit.
That means more players will start their careers in Division II and lower and, if they prove themselves, look to move up after a year or two.
Talent from lower divisions getting a fresh look
First-year Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris welcomed Division II players into his program at North Texas and will do the same at his new job. Three Division II players were among the 53 transfers he signed. Each brought significant experience while many Division I transfers come in untested because they played limited snaps at their previous schools.
"I don't think you can replicate game reps," Morris said. "I'll stand on the table and I'll die on that hill. I don't care where it is. Obviously, the higher the level it is, the competition is better and they've seen a faster athlete and things happen a little faster. We've had great success with getting Division II guys."
A total of 165 Division II players have transferred to Football Bowl Subdivision programs in the most recent cycle, according to 247Sports. That's up from 131 in the 2024-25 cycle, including 34 who moved from D2 to the Power Four.
Of 20 underclassmen on the 2025 Associated Press Division II All-America first and second teams, seven signed with FBS schools. First-team tight end Luke Dehnicke, who transferred from Minnesota-Duluth to Northwestern, was the top-rated Division II player in the portal, according to 247Sports.
Kennesaw State coach Jerry Mack said expanded scouting departments have made it easier to identify lower-division players who could make the move to the FBS. Even though the jump can prove to be too big for some players, Mack said, Chambliss' success will inspire FBS recruiting staffs to try to stretch their salary pool by finding bargains in Division II.
"There is an understanding there are not a lot of Trinidads out there. That's not every Division II quarterback," Mack said. "They struck lightning in a bottle and that's awesome. Can that happen again? I'm sure it can. I don't know if that's going to be the new norm."
Players eager to seize the new opportunities
McKenzie, despite being considered one of the top quarterback prospects in Michigan in 2023, got no FBS scholarship offers coming out of high school and landed at Saginaw Valley. He threw for 4,301 yards and 31 touchdowns in 25 games, was named 2025 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference player of the year and entered the portal in December with an eye toward achieving his boyhood dream.
"When I realized I had that opportunity," he said, "I felt like I would be doing my younger self a disservice if I didn't go and take it."
McKenzie considered a number of FBS offers, including from home-state schools Michigan and Michigan State, before he decided Boston College was the best fit.
McKenzie said he doesn't know Chambliss personally even though they grew up about 15 minutes apart. Their teams met in 2024, with Ferris winning 27-24. McKenzie played one of his better games that day, and testing himself against Chambliss strengthened his resolve to move up.
"Why can't I go do that when I literally went head to head with him and played him evenly if not better?" he said he asked himself.
McKenzie, like Chambliss, is a dual-threat quarterback. He said he was drawn to BC because of coach Bill O'Brien's ability to design the offense around his QB's strengths.
"We're not going to try to stuff him into a system that doesn't fit," O'Brien said on signing day.
McKenzie is among six quarterbacks on the BC roster, and his chief competition is expected to come from Arkansas transfer Grayson Wilson.
McKenzie likes his chances, and he said his excitement for the 2026 season spiked as he watched Miami play on its home field against Indiana in the national championship game. BC faces Miami on Nov. 28 at Hard Rock Stadium.
"Watching them in the national championship," he said, "it was definitely, 'OK, that's pretty sweet. We're going to be playing at that stadium against those guys next year.' It definitely was a cool thing to be watching that, especially coming from D2 and knowing we're going to be playing there next year."
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Follow FOX 17: Facebook - X (formerly Twitter) - Instagram - YouTube