By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Any day now, or any week or month from now, Ole Miss senior quarterback Trinidad Chambliss will learn from the NCAA if he receives an extra year of eligibility so he can be a senior again in 2026.
If that happens, there is an excellent chance that he could enter the NCAA Transfer Portal between Jan. 2 and Jan. 16 and transfer to LSU to be with his former Ole Miss head coach, Lane Kiffin, who is now LSU’s head coach. Chambliss could also reunite with six Ole Miss offensive assistant coaches who Kiffin brought with him to LSU.
Those six – offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach/play caller Charlie Weis Jr., running backs coach Kevin Smith, co-offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Joe Cox, pass game coordinator/receivers coach George McDonald, inside receivers coach Sawyer Jordan and quarterbacks assistant Dane Stevens – are all currently coaching No. 6 Ole Miss (12-1) as they prepare to play No. 3 Georgia (12-1) in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals on Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN) in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
When Kiffin was interviewed in the television booth by ESPN’s Texas Bowl announcers Saturday night as LSU played Houston, Cole Cubelic brought up Chambliss.
“You talked to us about Trinidad Chambliss in the first game of the season (vs. Georgia State on Aug. 30), and you said, ‘This kid came in and in scrimmages, he was lights out. But he basically couldn’t manage the offense in practice.’ How do you get a quarterback’s light to go on? To get it him to become a gamer?”
But Kiffin audibled.
“This is tricky. Since we have coaches back there (at Ole Miss) and everything who might say it’s a (NCAA) violation if I actually talk about Trinidad and how good he is,” Kiffin said as he did get in some praise for his potential portal recruit. Who knows nowadays?”
So Cubelic, said, “OK, any quarterback. You’ve done with a lot of quarterbacks in your career, so.”
Kiffin then said, “I think that when you just give a quarterback belief and confidence, and you stick with him when things don’t go really well, especially early in the year. And they know that. And they feel that from you.”
Kiffin went on to recruit Chambliss and other quarterbacks who may enter the portal without mentioning any names, but with an explanation of what is behind his quarterback whisperer status. Kiffin did just produce Jaxson Dart, a first round NFL Draft pick in 2025 now starting for the New York Giants. A transfer from USC after the 201 season, Dart led the nation in 2024 in passing efficiency at 180.7 and was third with 4,279 passing yards. And Kiffin’s quarterback in his first season at Ole Miss in 2020, Matt Corral, finished ninth in the nation in efficiency at 177.6.
“The helmet communication now with the guys is so different than it used to be that it’s really neat to be able to walk him through games the way that we do,” Kiffin said.
Not as blatant as LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson immediately after winning the 2023 and ’25 national championships telling pitchers they should go to LSU, but possibly as effective.
“I think we have a very unique, really good quarterback system with what we do with the quarterbacks during the game,” he said.
Chambliss’ request to the NCAA for another season centers on the fact that when he played at Division II Ferris State from 2021 through 2024, he was red-shirted in ’21 and played in only two games in ’22. So, his argument for a six-year clock in college, as opposed to the customary five-year window, is he has only played three complete seasons, and two of those were in Division II.
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia getting an extra year for the 2025 season is similar to Chambliss’ case and may help it.
And the NCAA has been granting extra years to players left and right, regardless of the circumstances. And Chambliss has noted sports attorney Tom Mars representing him.
“I trust in Jesus Christ,” Chambliss said when asked about his chances for another college season in 2026 before he led Ole Miss to a 41-10 win over Tulane in the first round of the playoffs on Dec. 20. “Yeah, I have faith.”
Chambliss completed 23 of 29 passes for 282 yards and a touchdown and rushed six times for 36 yards and two touchdowns against the Green Wave. He is No. 15 in the nation in efficiency at 158.8 on 241-of-362 passing for 3,298 yards and 19 touchdowns with only three interceptions. Chambliss has also rushed 506 yards on 124 carries with eight touchdowns.
Chambliss would like to hear from the NCAA before or during the next transfer window, which is Jan. 2-16.
“But there are no deadlines for the NCAA to make a decision,” a source close to Chambliss said. “They’re famous for dragging their feet.”
The January transfer window is the only window before the 2026 season as the spring window was done away with after last year.
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