​​Trinidad Chambliss has already agreed to return to Ole Miss for the 2026 season. But only if the NCAA approves his pending waiver for a sixth year of eligibility. On the surface, it sounds like a smart play. But the interesting thing is, Trinidad Chambliss might already be at peak value, if you listen to some draft analysts. And coming back to college for yet another year might do him more harm than good.

ESPN’s Greg McElroy broke it down. He said, “[Chambliss] has now skyrocketed to the point where he’s been the most highly efficient, high-volume passer in the country the last couple months. There was a moment last week in the game against Georgia where I was like, I’ve never seen a three-play sequence quite like that with the way he took over the game. So, this is a guy that wouldn’t surprise me if, when they start to evaluate the film, he kind of starts to elevate up those draft boards at some point.” 

Mike Greenberg dropped the real bombshell during the same ESPN segment. “Spoiler alert, you’re going to hear Field [Yates] and Mel [Kiper] a little later in the show say he could wind up the third quarterback taken in the draft if he winds up in this draft,” Greenberg said. 

Third quarterback taken means first-round money in most draft scenarios, especially in a class that’s being described as “thin at the top” at the position. If Trinidad Chambliss truly projects as a potential first-round pick right now. He would be the third quarterback after Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore. He’s looking at guaranteed money that dwarfs anything NIL can offer, even with Ole Miss potentially adjusting his contract.

But if he comes back, he’ll have to work to get to the first round all over again. And he will be risking injuries, unhelpful weapons around him, and other contingencies. Just look at Cade Klubnik, Garrett Nussmeier, and Drew Allar; they did the same. It did not work out well.

Trinidad Chambliss’s case for a sixth year hinges on proving he missed the 2022 season at Ferris State due to respiratory issues. Attorney Tom Mars has submitted a 91-page filing arguing that the waiver should be granted under the NCAA bylaws. The NCAA’s Division I Academics and Eligibility Committee is reviewing the case. But as of early January 2026, there’s still no decision despite the original request being filed back in November. Mars has warned about “irreparable harm” if the waiver isn’t granted soon. He has cited the closing elite quarterback market in the transfer portal, where Chambliss could theoretically cash in even bigger if he were available. 

But now, Chambliss has elevated himself into legitimate NFL consideration with life-changing financial implications. So, the decision to return feels less like an opportunity and more like a gamble that could cost him everything he’s already earned.​

The “runner” label that refused to die

Ole Miss receiver Cayden Lee remembers his skepticism when he first heard the Rebels were bringing in a Division II quarterback last spring. “I was like, ‘OK, first off, Kiffin is an offensive guy, so he’s not going to just bring somebody in. He sees something in him,” Lee recalled. 

“He got here, and everybody was like, ‘He’s a runner.’ Well, we started throwing, and I was like, ‘Oh, s***. He can throw, too. He’s like a little Kyler Murray out there.'” That comparison to Murray isn’t hyperbole when you look at what Chambliss actually did in 2025. Among quarterbacks with at least 20 touchdown passes, he threw the third-fewest interceptions with just three picks while ranking in the top 30 in completion percentage at 66.4% and top 20 in passing yards per game at 261.4. 

He also has 520 rushing yards, which puts him 10th nationally in total offensive yards per game. So, you’ve got a dual-threat playmaker that NFL teams are dying to find. Miami coach Mario Cristobal saw it firsthand before their Fiesta Bowl matchup, “Watching him on film, he’s on a different level. He can do it all. He’s a limitless football player.”

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A kid who, his dad says, developed elite hand-eye coordination as an all-star shortstop and point guard, who got painted as just a runner his entire football life, has now proven he can throw with the best of them. And that’s precisely why leaving for the NFL might be the smarter financial move than chasing another college season.