Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss was denied eligibility for a sixth season of College Football by the NCAA on Wednesday night, potentially sealing the Ole Miss Rebels as Auburn Tigers transfer Deuce Knight's team for the 2026 season.
Per ESPN's Pete Thamel, "The NCAA has denied Ole Miss’ appeal for Trinidad Chambliss’ sixth-year waiver. The NCAA athletics eligibility subcommittee denied the waiver, which was for a medical redshirt, and the school has been informed."
"Chambliss’ attorneys have filed for an injunction in state court in Mississippi. That’s expected to be heard on Feb. 12 in Chancery Court. Chambliss is seeking a redshirt year after not playing his second season at Ferris State," Thamel added.
From the sounds of it, Chambliss is going to do everything possible to get eligibility. It would be very SEC for Chambliss to get his way after keeping the pressure on. Or maybe, the state of Mississippi just isn't serious about winning like, say, Alabama, which saw a Tuscaloosa judge grant Charles Bediako extra eligibility to play on Nate Oats' Crimson Tide hoops team, despite having played in the NBA already.
It speaks volumes that the NCAA isn't just letting Chambliss get his extra year. TJ Finley is about to play a seventh season. Every year, there are countless stories of players playing far behind their fourth, or even fifth, years of eligibility.
Chambliss is a national example, though, having just led his team to the CFP semifinals. Donald Trump's federal government has made it clear that NIL/rev-share will be more regulated now.
That slots Knight into a role he might not have been fully expecting when he signed with the Rebs.
Deuce Knight could be given chance Hugh Freeze and DJ Durkin wouldn't give him
Knight maintained his redshirt in 2025 during his one-and-done season on the Plains. If only Hugh Freeze and DJ Durkin could've called his number, when dialing Jackson Arnold's came up empty and Ashton Daniels was good, but not great, we might be looking at the 2026 season in a different light.
Maybe Knight would've wanted to return to his home state anyway. Maybe he would've restored vibes enough to keep Durkin as the full-time head coach down the stretch of the season and maintain a talented, if flawed, roster.
Who knows. Knight didn't get that chance. Pete Golding might be forced to give it to him this fall, though.