Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has quickly become one of the most intriguing names to watch heading into the 2026 college football season.
At 6-foot and 200 pounds, Chambliss has gone from an obscure Division II starter to an SEC backup and, in the span of a year, into what some now view as one of the top quarterbacks in the sport after transferring to the Rebels from Ferris State.
That buzz got a fresh boost on Friday when ESPN’s Jordan Reid released his early projections for the 2027 NFL draft class. Reid labeled Chambliss a “riser” among quarterback prospects, and an NFL scout told him the Ole Miss quarterback draws a striking comparison to a recently retired NFL starter.
"Russell Wilson all over again," the scout told Reid. "The dude is electric.
He attacks the middle of the field and puts so much pressure on defenses. Don't be surprised to see someone take him in the back end of Round 1 if he builds off of last season."
The comparison starts with the frame. Wilson and Chambliss are built almost the same way, both sitting around six feet tall and roughly 200 pounds. There’s also a transfer path in common, though Chambliss took the far steeper jump by moving from Division II to the SEC, while Wilson’s move was from the ACC to the Big Ten.
Ball security is another shared trait. Wilson threw just one interception in his 2008 season at NC State and four in his 2011 season at Wisconsin, though he had more than 10 picks in each of his final two seasons with the Wolfpack. Chambliss has shown a similar knack for avoiding mistakes, with a career-high six interceptions in 2024 at Ferris State and only three in his first season at Ole Miss.
He also brings real value as a runner. Over the last two seasons, Chambliss has piled up 1,546 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns. Wilson ran effectively in college too, but his best single-season total was 435 yards and nine touchdowns at NC State in 2010.
Wilson eventually went to Seattle with the No. 75 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft and went on to start at least a handful of games for all four teams he played for during a 14-year career, with full seasons in nearly every year he spent with the Seahawks and Broncos.
Chambliss is older than some of the other quarterbacks in the class, which could leave him behind Oregon’s Dante Moore and Texas’ Arch Manning in the early pecking order. Even so, his playmaking gives him a path to land with a team near the end of the first round.
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