With a recent injunction granting Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss a sixth year of eligibility, sportsbooks have taken notice as one of college football’s top players is set to return to Oxford for the 2026 season. FanDuel Sportsbook now lists Trinidad Chambliss as a co-favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. He is tied at +800 odds with Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr.
All odds are subject to change
This upcoming season will feature several big name stars returning, creating a loaded top of the field when it comes to the Heisman conversation. However, the past two seasons we’ve seen two Heisman winners who entered the year as true longshots in Travis Hunter and Fernando Mendoza.
The top 10 players in the 2026 Heisman Trophy odds are as follows:
- Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss) +800
- CJ Carr (Notre Dame) +800
- Arch Manning (Texas) +950
- Josh Hoover (Indiana) +1100
- Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State) +1300
- Julian Sayin (Ohio State) +1300
- Dante Moore (Oregon) +1300
- Darian Mensah (Miami) +1500
- Gunner Stockton (Georgia) +1600
- Sam Leavitt (LSU) +1600
Chambliss entered last season as the backup for Ole Miss after transferring from Division II Ferris State. He took the college football world by storm when he got his opportunity, stepping in after starter Austin Simmons was sidelined with an injury early in the year. In his first three starts, Chambliss threw for over 300 yards in each game, averaged 81 rushing yards, and accounted for six total touchdowns.
He quickly played his way into the Heisman conversation off of the bench and likely would have been a legitimate contender to win the award if he had started from Week 1. His performance down the stretch is what really made him a household name though, playing hero ball against Georgia in the College Football Playoff and leading Ole Miss to the CFP semifinals in the midst of all the Lane Kiffin drama. Chambliss finished the season with 3,937 passing yards, 527 rushing yards, 30 total touchdowns, and posted an 11-2 record as the starter.
The biggest question for next season is what Chambliss and the Rebels will look like without head coach Lane Kiffin and much of the offensive staff. We saw a glimpse of that during the playoff run that Kiffin was not a part of but several offensive staffers remained, including offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., who is now with Kiffin at LSU.
One key piece returning for Chambliss is Joe Judge, who stayed on Pete Golding’s staff as “head coach of offense” and will continue to be quarterbacks coach. Judge played a major role in Chambliss’ development last season. The Rebels’ new offensive coordinator will be John David Baker, who engineered one of the top Group of Five offenses at East Carolina last year and returns to Ole Miss where he previously served as a position coach and co-OC from 2021-2023. In addition, Chambliss will be back alongside his backfield mate Kewan Lacy to form what could be the top QB-RB duo in college football next season.
While some may argue that Chambliss did not deserve another year of eligibility and believe situations like this are ruining college sports, it’s hard to complain about getting to watch a player of his caliber play college football again. With Chambliss back for the time being, expectations are high in Oxford as he will look to lead the Rebels back to the College Football Playoff and become the first Heisman Trophy winner in Ole Miss history.