Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss warms up before the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes. Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What's next for CFP, Ole Miss star QB Trinidad Chambliss after request for extra year of eligibility is denied by NCAA?

By John Banks | Last updated Jan 10, 2026 9:26 AM ET

The most-talked-about player in college football remains in the spotlight even though his team has been eliminated from the College Football Playoff.

Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss — whose Rebels fell to Miami 31-27 in the CFP semifinals on Thursday — received word Friday of the NCAA denying him a sixth season of eligibility. Chambliss, who recently signed a new NIL deal at Ole Miss, according to ESPN, wanted to return to Mississippi.

“While the process is still ongoing, there is no place I’d rather be than finishing my college football career in Oxford,” Chambliss explained in a statement posted to Instagram Tuesday.

What is Trinidad Chambliss' outlook should he enter NFL Draft?

Chambliss' next stop may be the NFL. But the QB draft market could be in significant flux for Chambliss, who threw for 3,937 yards and 22 touchdowns and showed off impressive all-around skills this season for the 13-2 Rebels.

As The Athletic NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler noted, Chambliss has "ridiculous" athleticism. However, the dual-threat QB (527 yards rushing this season) lacks prototypical NFL size (6-foot-1 and 200 pounds).

The playmaking instincts of Trinidad Chambliss are ridiculous.

This 3-play sequence sums it up. pic.twitter.com/scveD6uOFc
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) January 2, 2026

In his positional rankings posted Friday, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. listed Chambliss as his No. 4 QB, behind Alabama's Ty Simpson, Indiana's Fernando Mendoza and Oregon's Dante Moore.

Pro Football Focus lead draft analyst Trevor Sikkema believes Chambliss should turn pro if playing in the NFL is his goal.

"Strike while the iron is hot (and the QB class as a whole isn’t)," he tweeted Thursday.

According to Sikkema's PFF scouting report, Chambliss has "consistently risen to the occasion in high-leverage moments" and displayed "comfort against pressure" — traits that would serve him well in the NFL.

But in mid-December, The Ringer's Todd McShay wrote Chambliss was only worthy of a "Day 3 pick." Wrote McShay:

"He has shown immense growth as a one-year starter in the SEC and has enough tools worth developing as a practice-squad reserve in the NFL. It helps his cause, assuming he doesn’t get an additional year of collegiate eligibility, that he’s in a 2026 QB class that has taken some massive hits (Garrett Nussmeier injuries, Cade Klubnik and Drew Allar regression, underclassmen returning to school, etc.) since the beginning of the season."

With Texas' Arch Manning and South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers headlining the 2027 class, that QB group could be much stronger than this year's. So declaring this season seems like the smart call for Chambliss, who won't be returning to Ole Miss.

This year's NFL Draft is April 23-25 in Pittsburgh.

John Banks

A longtime editor at ESPN and The Dallas Morning News, Banks has written for The New York Times, Civil War Times, America's Civil War, Military Images and other publications. He lives in Nashville.

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