Owen Chambliss grew up in Corona, once world-renowned for growing lemons.
He experienced Southern California’s cool winters and hot summers while starring on the gridiron at Centennial High School.
The three-star prospect signed a letter of intent to attend and play for Utah in December 2022, picking the Utes over offers from 11 major programs — including USC and Washington.
He was not prepared for what awaited him in Salt Lake City. Chambliss enrolled on Jan. 9, 2023, and by Jan. 12, statewide snowpack was 189% of normal for that time of year. An unprecedented 903 inches of snow fell on the Alta Ski Area just outside of Salt Lake City.
“I had never seen snow in California, and then I went to Utah, and they had the worst winter in Utah history,” Chambliss said.
“I didn’t have a car, didn’t have anything. That was probably the first adversity I experienced, because I remember thinking, ‘I’m on my own, I have to figure out what works for me.’”
It wasn’t long before Chambliss returned home, found a new school — San Diego State — and began putting up big numbers. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker leads San Diego State with 52 tackles, 20 more than the next-best tackler. The Aztecs are off this week before taking on Fresno State on the road.
“Owen Chambliss has been playing at an elite level.” SDSU coach Sean Lewis said. “And I knew he had a special skillset, and his maturation and football IQ, but working with Coach (Rob) Aurich, they’ve taken his game to another level.”
Owen Chambliss #12 of San Diego State looks on during the FanFest scrimmage at Snapdragon Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Return west, young man
After spending one season in Utah, Chambliss announced his intent to transfer. One month later, he enrolled at SDSU.
“Eric Schmidt, our former D.C., was at UW when they offered me,” he said, referring to the University of Washington. “That’s kind of how I got my name here. Coach (Demetrius) Sumler also recruited me out of high school, so I kind of had a few connections here.”
Outside of the pristine weather, Chambliss came to SDSU looking for a better opportunity.
He explained to the Union-Tribune after spring practice last year: “I just didn’t feel like Utah was the right culture fit for me. I think they’re a great program, they’ve got some great coaches. It just wasn’t, unfortunately, right for me.”
Chambliss produced 31 tackles in his first six games as a redshirt freshman with the Aztecs last year before his body began to betray him.
He needed surgery to fix a broken right hand, then he suffered a concussion, a broken right fibula and a hyperextended left elbow — all of which conspired to sideline him nearly the entire second half of the season.
Outside of a pulled hamstring that cost him four weeks in his only season with the Utes, Chambliss had never dealt with any sort of injury.
“It was definitely hard,” he said. “I think relying on my teammates helped, I have so many best friends on the team now, so just leaning on those guys every day. Making sure I stayed focused, I stayed in the film room, and not lose sight of the main goal.”
Lewis said the stop-start nature of Chambliss’ injuries made things even worse.
“There were moments where I felt like he was gaining momentum last year, and something outside his control would happen that would kill that momentum and stunt his growth, and then we’d have to regain it again, and something else would happen,” he said. “There was a herky-jerkiness to it.”
San Diego State linebacker Owen Chambliss transferred to SDSU following a season at Arizona. (Hayne Palmour IV / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
He’s got it covered
With Chambliss leading the way, the Aztecs’ defense is rolling.
At the midway point of the season, SDSU is tied for sixth in the country in scoring defense (12.2 points per game), eighth in third-down conversion rate (25.8%) and tied for 11th in red-zone defense (71.4%).
The Aztecs are also ranked in the top 10 in two other major defensive categories: they’re sixth in pass efficiency (101.88), and 10th in total defense (259.7 yards per game).
With fellow linebacker Tano Letuli missing all or parts of four games due to injury, Chambliss has taken his game to another level to make up for the absence of his good friend and one of the team’s captains. He has five tackles-for-loss, three pass breakups and two sacks.
Pro Football Focus lists Chambliss as the second-best Aztec in coverage behind cornerback Chris Johnson. Among players who have lined up on the field for at least 150 snaps against the pass, Chambliss grades out as the 14th-best linebacker in the country, according to PFF.
Chambliss explained: “In high school, I actually played corner and safety, and I got offered by most schools to play safety. I was going to go to USC to play safety, so I have a natural DB background, and I think that I’ve kept some of the main techniques and skills. Obviously, I continue to work on it and improve every day, but I feel real comfortable in coverage.”
Owen Chambliss #12 and Brady Anderson #42 of the San Diego State Aztecs celebrate after Anderson’s touchdown against the Stony Brook Seawolves during the second half at Snapdragon Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The ‘make-you-right guy’
It’s a good thing for the Aztecs that Chambliss is comfortable covering athletic tight ends, and even the occasional slot receiver.
Without a versatile, athletic linebacker handling weakside responsibilities, Aurich’s 4-2-5 scheme would struggle to catch up with modern, fast-paced spread offenses.
Chambliss is “kind of the glue between the front half of our defense and the back half of our defense,” Aurich said. “He’s probably been the most valuable player for us on third down because of his flexibility as an athlete.
“A lot of people don’t realize how big he is. The way he’s able to move his body in coverage and blitz has really allowed us to carry a little more size within our defensive front, and not have to live in sub-packages.”
SDSU’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach said he appreciates Chambliss’ mental approach, too.
“It’s up there with the best I’ve coached,” Aurich said. “He understands football at a high level, and he has good ideas …
“He has a great feel for leverage and when to play fast, and when to play slow,” he said. “He’s a ‘make-you-right guy,’ and you’ve got to have a couple of those guys on defense to cover up mistakes.
“He’s done a great job of any time anyone’s been out of the gap, being able to fix the leverage and end up making the play.”
Lucky Sutton #7 of San Diego State runs the ball against Owen Chambliss #12 of San Diego State during the FanFest scrimmage at Snapdragon Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Another level?
When you think big, versatile, athletic linebackers who can cover, it’s impossible not to think of Fred Warner. The Mission Hills High School grad is a four-time All-Pro with the San Francisco 49ers.
Warner is just one of the NFL linebackers Chambliss says he studies: “I think everybody wants to be Fred Warner, right?”
He believes the Cleveland Browns’ Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, a Butkus Award winner at Notre Dame in 2020, is an amazing player and has been “a little bit overlooked” in the pros. He also watches some of future Hall of Famer Luke Kuechly’s tape to see “how he diagnoses the game.”
Chambliss added: “I think it’s helping.”
When asked if the game was starting to slow down for him in his second full season with the Aztecs, Chambliss offered “the game isn’t moving slower” but it “feels like I’m moving faster.”
Aurich believes Chambliss needs to continue to improve his overall physicality for him to take the next step.
“I know Owen has aspirations to be the best linebacker in the country. That’s a goal of his,” Aurich said. “He wants to be up there with the greats that have played at this school and in this conference.
“I know there’s probably four or five plays on the season he wants back, and you want to coach guys who are like that. He holds himself to a really high standard, so I have no doubt he’s going to achieve everything he wants to achieve.”
At the very least, the season so far has certainly proven Chambliss couldn’t be further from one of those citrus fruits his hometown was so famous for back in the day.