Mississippi football quarterback Trinidad Chambliss will return to the Rebels for the 2026 season if he receives a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA, he said on ESPN’s ‘SportsCenter’ on Monday, Jan. 5.
Chambliss, who has emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in college football in his first season at the Division I level, has led Ole Miss to the College Football Playoff semifinals after taking over the job from Austin Simmons early in the season. Chambliss will return to Ole Miss for 2026 if he’s allowed, despite his former head coach Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. leaving for LSU.
Chambliss said he considered LSU but ultimately realized Ole Miss was the right place for him, should he receive another year.
‘I guess so, but at the end of the day I just made the right decision and that was to stick with my gut,’ Chambliss said on ‘SportsCenter.’ ‘Ole Miss has been good to me, and I feel like I owe it to Ole Miss. I just love it here and I love the community, so that was the right choice.’
Chambliss, a first-year transfer from Division II Ferris State, is hoping to receive a retroactive redshirt for the 2022 season, in which he didn’t play due to chronic tonsillitis and heart palpitations. He redshirted in his first college season in 2021.
‘My respiratory system just wasn’t the best at the time,’ Chambliss said.
The 6-foot-1 senior passed for 362 yards with two touchdowns in Ole Miss’ 39-34 win over Georgia in the CFP quarterfinals on Jan. 1, avenging the Rebels’ lone loss this season. Chambliss has 3,660 passing yards with 21 touchdowns to three interceptions in 2025, also rushing for 520 yards and eight scores.
Ferris State won the Division II national championship with Chambliss at the helm in 2024, scoring 51 total touchdowns in 15 starts.
Austin Simmons, who started the season as Ole Miss’ starter, has already entered the transfer portal although he’s finishing out the season with the Rebels. Ole Miss also hasn’t shown interest in any transfer portal quarterbacks so far this offseason.
‘I deserve it,’ Chambliss said Dec. 30 at Sugar Bowl media day. ‘I’ve only played three seasons of college football. I feel like I deserve to play four. I redshirted in 2021. That was my freshman redshirt. Then I medically redshirted in 2022. Played in 2023, 2024 and this is 2025.’
Ole Miss faces No. 10 Miami at the Fiesta Bowl for a spot in the national championship on Thursday, Jan. 8.