Trinidad Chambliss is still awaiting a ruling on his eligibility for another season of college football after the NCAA’s appeals committee upheld the denial of his request.
Chambliss, whose legal representation has maintained that he was entitled to a sixth year of college football due to a medical condition rendering him incapable of competing during the 2022 season, originally had his waiver request denied by the NCAA on Jan. 12 on the basis that not enough evidence existed to justify affording him a sixth year of eligibility. That decision was validated by the association’s appeals committee on Wednesday.
“The NCAA Athletics Subcommittee’s decision to deny Trinidad’s appeal is indefensible in light of the undisputed facts. The NCAA staff and the subcommittee asserted that Trinidad was not denied the opportunity to compete during the 2022 season, despite the reality that he did not dress for a single game while suffering from severe, incapacitating medical conditions,” an official statement from the Ole Miss Athletics Department reads.
“Those conditions were fully and contemporaneously documented by his treating physician, yet this waiver request was still denied when it should have been approved at the NCAA staff level.”
The Ferris State turned Ole Miss quarterback’s waiver sought a retroactive redshirt for the 2022 season when he reportedly dealt with an ongoing battle with respiratory issues that required him to get his tonsils removed. NCAA officials noted that rules only allow one redshirt year, which Chambliss used as a true freshman in 2021. However, his attorneys insist that he only played three “countable” seasons and is entitled to one more campaign.
While Chambliss did not win his appeal, the battle for another year of eligibility is far from over, as he has a viable fallback option. Represented by attorneys Tom Mars and William Liston, Chambliss took his case to the state court level in Mississippi. A lawsuit against the NCAA was filed by Chambliss’ team in the Lafayette County Chancery Court on Jan. 16.
In the lawsuit, which aims to obtain a preliminary injunction that would prevent the NCAA from prohibiting the star signal-caller from playing for the Rebels this upcoming season, the legal team described the NCAA’s decision to deny Chambliss’ request as “arbitrary,” arguing that it was done in bad faith.
The legal filing also includes testimony from former Ferris State Associate AD for Sports Medicine Brett Knight, Ferris State head football coach Tony Annese, and Dr. Anthony Howard, a licensed otolaryngologist who personally treated Chambliss. All three vouched for Chambliss to be granted an extra year of eligibility, noting that his battle with chronic tonsillitis, along with other medical complications, sidelined him in 2022.
“Trinidad’s representatives will continue to pursue all available legal remedies, and we will publicly stand behind Trinidad while holding the NCAA accountable for a decision that fails to align with its own rules, precedent, and the documented redshirt,” the statement from Ole Miss Athletics further reads.
The judge overseeing the case is Senatobia native Robert Whitwell, an Ole Miss Law graduate and former Northwest Mississippi Community College quarterback. Whitwell will preside over a hearing scheduled for Feb. 12 in Calhoun County. In Oxford, the belief is that Chambliss will be granted the injunction, allowing him to run it back with the red and blue.
Chambliss was a shining star for the Rebels and arguably one of college football’s greatest storylines this past season. The Division II transfer was called upon to lead the offensive charge when sophomore Austin Simmons suffered a week-two injury. From his first start in week three to the conclusion of the season, Chambliss thrived, leading the Rebels to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff, where Ole Miss was one play away from competing for a national title.
In his first Division I campaign, the dual-threat logged 3,937 passing yards and 22 touchdowns in the air, compared to just three interceptions. He added 527 yards and eight scores on the ground. In addition to choosing to stay put at Ole Miss instead of following former frontman Lane Kiffin to LSU or entertaining the portal in general, Chambliss played a major role in helping Pete Golding build his first roster as the Rebels’ head football coach.
As for the upcoming season, Ole Miss will kick things off versus Louisville in Nashville’s Nissan Stadium. The game is scheduled to take place on either Sept. 5 or 6. If Chambliss is not cleared to play, the Rebels are expected to look to George County native and Auburn transfer Deuce Knight to command the offense.