Just days after the NCAA denied Trinidad Chambliss’ bid for another season, the debate around Ole Miss’s star QB took a more personal turn. The locker room has been roiling with frustration. Now, the Ole Miss center has voiced support for Chambliss and questioned the logic behind the ruling itself, pointing to Charles Bediako’s saga as proof that something doesn’t add up.

“If a guy who played in the NBA can come back and play college basketball, I don’t understand why Trinidad can’t play,” Ole Miss center Brycen Sanders said. “What’s really bothering people is that the rules keep changing depending on who you are.”

Bediako’s controversy keeps coming up for a reason. After declaring for the NBA Draft and signing a two-way contract, he returned to college basketball and is set to play against the Tigers today. That decision raised eyebrows across college sports. So when Ole Miss players look at a guy who never left and carried the program through its best season ever, the comparison feels unavoidable.

“We haven’t been in a locker room in two weeks because of all the ICE stuff,” Sanders said. “So I’m glad for everyone to get back here Sunday and start back up.”

Even with that brief reset, they want their QB back. “Obviously, I want him as a quarterback. He’s one of the best players in the country for a reason,” Sanders said.

There is a reason why every Ole Miss player wants their QB back for another season. They saw Chambliss go from a backup to Austin Simmons to the leader of the offense. Despite not starting during the first phase of the season, Chambliss led the SEC in passing yards, threw for 22 touchdowns, and somehow finished eighth in the Heisman voting. He saved his best heroics for playoff games against Georgia and Miami.

“Who wouldn’t want to be playing for that guy?” Sanders said. “From what I’ve seen, I think he should be playing.”

Chambliss’ request for another year was turned down anyway, despite Ole Miss calling out the decision as “indefensible,” and now the whole thing is headed to court, with a hearing set for February 12.

For Ole Miss, this battle is about fairness and giving another chance to a player who helped deliver the best year in program history. Beyond the program, national voices also believe that Chambliss’ case still has a clear path ahead.

Kirk Herbstreit has hope

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said last month on his podcast that he is really confident in Chambliss, especially given that his attorney is Tom Mars.

“His attorney, Tom Mars, is very bullish on being able to get him that extra year,” Herbstreit said. “I do know Tom Mars feels very confident that he’s going to win this case and that Trinidad Chambliss will have an extra year.”

Mars has a long track record of taking on the NCAA and winning. However, the case won’t be simple. It’s not like the Diego Pavia case. The NCAA said Ole Miss didn’t submit medical records from the actual time Chambliss says he was dealing with a serious illness during the 2022 season at Ferris State.

The NCAA claims that the only document attached to the submission was a December 2022 doctor’s note stating that Chambliss was “doing very well.” Chambliss did not play because of “developmental needs and our team’s competitive circumstances,” according to the school. And it doesn’t qualify for the requirements for a clock-extension waiver as per the rules.

Ole Miss and Chambliss’ legal team strongly disagree, and that’s where the courtroom comes in.