The NCAA has denied Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss’ request for a sixth year of eligibility, a ruling that arrived less than 24 hours after the Rebels’ season ended with a loss to Miami in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Ole Miss filed the waiver in November, seeking to extend Chambliss’ eligibility clock after he transferred to the Rebels ahead of the 2025 season following four years at Division II Ferris State. Chambliss, a Grand Rapids, Michigan, native, was hoping to return for one more season after leading Ole Miss to a 13-2 record and a historic playoff run.
However, the denial officially ends his college career and sends Chambliss to the NFL Draft, where he is ranked No. 4 among quarterbacks by ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr., behind Oregon’s Dante Moore, Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Alabama’s Ty Simpson.
“In November, Ole Miss filed a waiver request for football student-athlete Trinidad Chambliss, seeking to extend his five-year Division I eligibility clock,” the NCAA said in a statement. The organization cited a lack of required contemporaneous medical documentation to support the claim of an incapacitating illness or injury, noting that all approved clock-extension cases this academic year included such documentation.
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Chambliss began the season as the backup to Austin Simmons but took over as the starter after Simmons suffered an injury in a 30-23 win over Kentucky on Sept. 6. He went on to emerge as one of the nation’s most productive quarterbacks, throwing for 3,937 yards and 22 touchdowns with three interceptions, while adding 527 rushing yards and eight scores.
He threw for at least 300 yards in eight games, finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting and put together one of the most signature performances in program history in a 39-34 Sugar Bowl victory over No. 3 Georgia.
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The ruling is a significant blow for head coach Pete Golding and the Rebels, who must now reset at quarterback. Simmons transferred to Missouri on Jan. 6, leaving Ole Miss to search for its next answer at the position as Chambliss prepares for the next stage of his career.
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