Kirk Herbstreit is ready to plant his flag on Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
On the latest episode of the Nonstop podcast, the ESPN analyst made clear that when he’s picking one quarterback above the rest in college football, Chambliss is the name he lands on. The conversation started with co-host Joey Galloway asking Herbstreit how many quarterbacks he would take over Alabama’s Keelon Russell, who has surged in the Heisman Trophy race after a four-touchdown performance. Herbstreit ran through CJ Carr, Darian Mensah and Julian Sayin before getting to the Rebels’ sixth-year passer.
"There's Trinidad Chambliss, who I would probably take over everybody."
Galloway backed that view, even while calling the overall discussion a tough one.
"I agree with you in one fact, that I think I'm taking Trinidad Chambliss right now over everyone. If I had to take one guy," Galloway said.
Herbstreit acknowledged the level Russell is playing at, but said the field is crowded with strong options this season.
"So I get your point that Keelon Russell's playing at an elite level. I would agree with that. But man, it's one of those years where there's a bunch of guys," he said.
Russell’s latest statement came in Alabama’s 56-23 win at Mississippi State on Saturday, when the 6-foot-3 Duncanville, Texas, native went 16 of 22 for 285 yards and three touchdowns and added another score on the ground.
Still, Herbstreit’s praise for Chambliss went beyond the weekly debate over the best quarterback in the sport. He also floated the bigger NFL question: whether Chambliss could be the first player taken in the draft. Galloway said no, pointing only to size, with Ole Miss listing the Grand Rapids, Michigan, native at 6-foot and 210 pounds.
"I think if he's 6-foot-3, he's the number one pick last year in the NFL draft. And I think his height is the only thing," Galloway said. "If I had a team and a pick, I'm taking him."
Chambliss skipped the 2026 draft after a Mississippi state judge granted him an injunction for a sixth year of eligibility.
Herbstreit pointed to Bryce Young as a reminder that smaller quarterbacks can still go at the top, citing Young’s 5-foot-10 1/8 measurement at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine before the Carolina Panthers selected him No. 1 overall.
"Because to me, it's this ability to process, accuracy. Does he have that 'it' factor in his heart?
Every one of those is double check marks," Herbstreit said. "I would take a guy that can process and make decisions and throw accurately.
I don't care how tall he is. That's my guy."
Chambliss has been one of the biggest stories early in the season. The former Ferris State star has completed 70.8% of his passes for 1,222 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions through four games, and he has also scored four times on the ground.
He threw for 363 yards in Ole Miss’ 32-24 win over LSU on Sept. 19, a performance that led Herbstreit to wonder aloud whether any quarterback in the country was better. A week later, Chambliss accounted for 342 total yards and three touchdowns in a 52-28 loss at Florida that dropped the Rebels to 3-1.
Ole Miss is back from its bye and heads to Vanderbilt on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 3:30 p.m. ET.
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