Trinidad Chambliss climbing up NFL draft boards after losing waiver appeal

After two impressive performances in the College Football Playoffs, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss is one of the hottest names on the college market. His last-second Hail Mary just missed in the Rebels' Fiesta Bowl loss to the Miami Hurricanes, and Chambliss also took a loss with the NCAA.

The NCAA rejected Chambliss' appeal for another season, issuing a lengthly statement in regards to the situation via social media. The quarterback had applied for the waiver based on his missing the 2022 college season while a redshirt freshman at Ferris State. Chambliss had appealed that he missed that year due to a medical condition, but the NCAA rejected that, effectively ending his college career.

Trinidad Chambliss has monster College Football Playoff run

Now Chambliss is thrust into the 2026 NFL Draft class, and his performances in the Rebels' CFP wins over Tulane and Georgia, and loss to Miami, will only bolster his draft value. Chambliss offers a lot of potential as a dual-threat quarterback with a big arm and impressive field vision as both a passer and a runner. While on the smaller side at a listed 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds that might be generous on both, Chambliss' skills call to mind other undersized dual-threat QBs like Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray.

In this 2026 draft class, that's a unique value for Chambliss. While he's unlikely to ascend into the top 10 overall with Indiana's Fernando Mendoza and Oregon's Dante Moore, Chambliss has a strong case to the third quarterback selected. Chambliss offers charismatic leadership that quickly translated from the D-II championships at Ferris State into leading an upstart Ole Miss team to the final four of this year's CFP. NFL teams love players who rise to challenges and thrive in different circumstances, and that's Chambliss.

Look for Trinidad Chambliss to start making regular appearances in the first round of 2026 NFL mock drafts and nudging up higher on NFL draft big boards and player rankings quickly, now that his college career might be done.