Trinidad Chambliss’s legal victory means Ole Miss is stacked on offense for 2026
By David Wasson
Published:
It’s mighty good to be Pete Golding right now.
He was handed the reins of a College Football Playoff team just a few months ago (thanks, Lane Kiffin!).
He navigated said team to the CFP semifinals despite having to piece together a coaching staff from week to week.
And now, courtesy of the court system, he just locked in his superstar quarterback for 2026 after it was looking like all was most certainly lost.
Yep, it’s mighty good to be Pete Golding right now. It’s mighty good to be an Ole Miss fan right now. And it is most certainly mighty good to be Trinidad Chambliss.
In case you missed it amid the flurry of other SEC-related courtroom shenanigans in recent weeks, Chambliss was granted an injunction based on the belief he was held off the field at Ferris State in 2022 due to a medical redshirt. Never mind that the NCAA ruled against Chambliss, then denied his appeal and a subsequent request for further reconsideration… Have judge, will play!
Which is precisely what Chambliss and Ole Miss had in their favor earlier this week, as 18th Chancery District Judge Robert Whitwell ruled in the quarterback’s favor and against the NCAA, saying the organization “ignored” evidence that Chambliss was unfit to play in 2022 with respiratory issues, and that it also acted in bad faith by denying his request.
While the NCAA is still mulling an appeal of Whitwell’s ruling, it now appears that Chambliss is a full go for what will be his second season at Ole Miss, his sixth overall as a college football player, and his first as one of the best quarterbacks in the country.
Listen, it’s OK to scratch your head in wonderment about how Chambliss can somehow muster enough evidence to convince a Mississippi judge of something when he couldn’t with the NCAA. One would think if someone had bad enough respiratory issues in 2022, plenty of records would still be floating around to easily win the first go-round.
But now that anarchy has prevailed and Chambliss has the green light to hang around Oxford for another season, Ole Miss is also propelled to the upper plateau of teams that have a real shot of hoisting the CFP trophy in 2026. The Rebels were a +4000 longshot at BetMGM to win it all in 2026, but following the ruling Ole Miss’ title odds shortened to +3500. Fanatics trimmed the Rebels even more – going from +4000 to +2500.
That is significant, especially when viewed through the prism of where Chambliss was just about 12 months ago: a little-known transfer from D-II Ferris State who was just looking to add a little depth to the Rebels’ offense in his presumptive final year of eligibility.
Instead, Chambliss vaulted not only past injured opening-day starter Austin Simmons into the starting lineup, but into SEC and national prominence. Playing in 13 of 15 games, Chambliss finished the season as the SEC leader in passing yards with 3,937 yards to go with 30 total touchdowns (22 passing, 8 rushing).
The CFP heaped even more shine upon Chambliss, as he led the Rebels to 2 victories – including a virtuoso effort in a victory over SEC champion Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Chambliss threw for 362 yards that night in New Orleans and led Ole Miss to 20 fourth-quarter points in a comeback victory.
Now, Chambliss returns to lead an Ole Miss offense that also boasts running back Kewan Lacy, who was third nationally with 1,567 rushing yards and second in the country with 24 rushing touchdowns. As a tandem, Chambliss and Lacy led Ole Miss to a startling 489.7 yards per game – ranking second in the NCAA behind only North Texas’s absurd 512.4 yards per outing.
Given an entire offseason to actually figure it out, albeit with a new offensive coordinator after Charlie Weis Jr. decamped with Kiffin to LSU, it is not impossible to envision the Chambliss-Lacy duo rollicking through opposing defenses for at least 500 yards a game in 2026.
That is heady stuff, and expectations will be sky high for new offensive coordinator John David Baker to somehow meet. But the tools are there, starting with Chambliss and Lacy, along with returning receiver Deuce Alexander and talented transfers Darrell Gill and Johntay Cook. The Rebels’ offensive line lost some talent from 2025, but the transfer portal added key plug-and-play talent in Carius Curne and Tommy Kinsler to offset the losses.
One thing Chambliss won’t have on his side heading into 2026 is the element of surprise. Precisely no one other than immediate family and a handful of hardcore Ferris State fanatics knew who Chambliss was when Kiffin tapped him to replace the injured Simmons in Week 2 against Kentucky.
Now, we all see Chambliss coming. His electrifying coming-out party on the field – combined with his anarchic legal victory – saw to that. Blessed with one more year in Oxford and a full offseason to prepare, the smart money won’t be on Chambliss to fail.
Winning on the field. Winning in the portal. Winning in the courtroom. Yep, it is good to be Pete Golding, Trinidad Chambliss, and an Ole Miss fan right now.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
