Curt Cignetti, Trinidad Chambliss and college football's 'rags to riches' stories in 2026

There are a few things we, as a sports-obsessed population, love more than a good underdog story.

College football has given us plenty of those over the years and this current era of the game is no different. The Indiana Hoosiers just won a national championship after being the laughingstock of Big Ten football for most of their existence. If there's ever been a good underdog story, it's the story of Curt Cignetti and the rise of the Hoosiers.

The "rags to riches" transformations aren't limited to programs, though. In fact, it was revealed recently that multiple preseason All-American candidates heading into the 2026 season actually entered the college football ranks as unranked recruits.

This, according to a list from Hunter Shelton of Rivals, who combed the recent On3 preseason All-American list and found six players who were unranked as recruits.

That list is highlighted by Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who very well could be a Heisman Trophy contender in 2026. 

From Grand Rapids, Michigan, Chambliss committed to Ferris State out of high school, and he helped the Bulldogs win a Division II national championship.

He transferred to Ole Miss and had the Rebels in contention for the CFP last season. From an unranked recruit to a quarterback who is likely to play his way into a high draft slot in the 2027 NFL Draft, Chambliss has had a tremendous rise to fame.

Indiana and Curt Cignetti have helped two unranked recruits reach stardom 

Perhaps not surprisingly, the Hoosiers have two former unranked recruits who have now found themselves listed among the best in college football. 

Defensive tackle Tyrique Tucker committed to Cignetti and James Madison and then followed him to Indiana. Last season, he notched an incredible six sacks at 6-foot, 307 pounds.

Linebacker Rolijah Hardy was recruited by Cignetti to Indiana as an unranked prospect out of Lakeland, Florida. He ended last season with 48 total tackles and eight sacks.

The other unranked recruits were Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy, Houston guard Shadre Hurst, UCLA running back Wayne Knight, Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro and Troy punter Evan Crenshaw.

Of course, the rankings aren't always wrong. Jeremiah Smith was the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2024 cycle, and he's easily the top wide receiver in college football now. Colin Simmons at Texas was a five-star in the same class, and he's projected to be a superstar for the Longhorns in 2026.

More often than not, the star rankings tend to play out how the analysts believe they will. It is certainly interesting to see how many unheralded recruits have worked their way up to college football superstardom heading into 2026, though.