Chris Doering thinks the SEC’s best quarterback entering 2026 wears Ole Miss colors.
The former Florida receiver and SEC Network analyst laid out his top five passers on Tuesday, and he put Trinidad Chambliss at No. 1.
Behind Chambliss, Doering slotted Oklahoma’s John Mateer at No. 2, Texas’s Arch Manning at No.
3, Auburn’s Byrum Brown at No. 4 and Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed at No. 5.
“He's ready for the moment.” @ChrisDoering ranks @OleMissFB 's Trinidad Chambliss as the best QB entering this season 🇹🇹 pic.twitter.com/uqhWJ3fjbU
- SEC Network (@SECNetwork) July 21, 2026
Doering also said Ole Miss and Chambliss carry more pressure than any SEC team outside of Lane Kiffin and LSU. That weight comes from the expectations built after Ole Miss reached the College Football Playoff with Chambliss starting for the first time in the SEC last season.
He didn’t sugarcoat how hard that standard will be to match, but he made clear he believes Chambliss can handle it.
“It’s gonna be tough to live up to, but he too has a lot of pieces around him getting Kewan Lacy back is a big part of taking some of that pressure off of him,” Doering said. “I think you and I being in Oxford last week, sitting down with Trinidad, meeting his parents… he’s ready for the moment, and I really believe he’s a special person outside of just the quarterback, that’s going to be able to live up to the bar that was set incredibly high last year.”
Ole Miss opens the season on September 6 against Louisville.
In Other News...
SEC Power Shift Talk Should Have Mississippi State Fans On Edge
Greg Sankeys comments this week put some real context around the SECs ongoing frustration with the direction of college sports. The commissioner said the league is talking openly about the strain created by issues like legislation, NIL transparency and the College Football Playoff structure, but he also made clear that a clean split from the NCAA is not the preferred answer. For a league that has long set the pace nationally, the conversation is less about bluster than about how much longer the current setup can keep absorbing pressure.
Sankey also pointed to the SECs recent run of success across all sports as a reason there is no urgency to force a break. Still, the fact that these discussions are happening at all says plenty about where the sport stands, and why schools around the league are watching every new development so closely. The bigger question now is whether the national framework can steady itself before the frustration in the SEC keeps building. [Read more 🡒]
ESPN Analyst Just Took A Brutal Shot At Ole Miss Fans
Ole Miss heads into 2026 with a very different feel after Lane Kiffins departure, and the program is now set to move forward under Pete Golding. The Rebels still have reasons to believe they can stay in the national conversation, especially with pieces like quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy giving the roster some real upside on offense.
Even so, the outside perception is already turning into part of the storyline, and SEC Network analyst Roman Harper did little to soften the skepticism around what comes next in Oxford. For a fan base that has seen the program climb into the sports upper tier, the question now is whether Golding can steady that momentum quickly enough to keep Ole Miss from slipping back while expectations remain high. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss QB Just Drew A Massive National Claim Ahead Of 2026
Trinidad Chambliss already forced his way into the national conversation by earning another year of eligibility and positioning himself to be back at Ole Miss in 2026. The path there was unusual enough on its own, but the bigger takeaway for Rebels fans is how quickly his stock has risen after he stepped in last season and helped drive Ole Miss all the way to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Now the buzz around Chambliss is reaching well beyond Oxford. ESPN analyst Jordan Rodgers went so far as to call him the best quarterback in the country, a striking claim for a player who is still set to build on what he showed a year ago. Rodgers also pointed to the expectation that Chambliss can keep improving even with coaching changes around him, which only adds to the intrigue heading into next season. [Read more 🡒]