Ole Miss hopes that the complex waiver process for medical redshirt will be ruled in their favor for their star quarterback -- and so does he.
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has had a sharp ascent to national recognition after transferring to the Rebels from Division II Ferris State. He currently has the Rebels poised for a run in the College Football Playoff after beating the Tulane Green Wave 41-10 handily in the first round. They now head to New Orleans to face Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. But this might not be Chambliss’ last ride.
Chambliss is in his fifth season of college football, which is the last year of player eligibility. However, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN, Chambliss is initiating a “complex process” to secure a waiver for one more season of eligibility. Should that be granted, Chambliss will be a top target in the sport in 2026. Ole Miss filed the petition on Nov. 16 and are waiting on a decision from the NCAA Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement. The transfer portal, however, opens on Jan. 2, and there is no timeline for when that decision could be made.
Chambliss has since retained attorney Tom Mars, who sent a letter to the Rebels that went on for seven pages. The argument is that Chambliss has uniquely high stakes as he would garner a market worth millions should he be granted the waiver to return, either to Ole Miss or another suitor in the transfer portal.
"This matter is not just time sensitive," Mars wrote, asserting that Chambliss would "suffer irreparable harm" if he's not granted the waiver.
In its simplest form, the waiver is requesting a medical redshirt for his 2022 season at Ferris State when he didn’t play any games due to “persistent respiratory issues.” Chambliss had surgery to remove his tonsils. He doesn’t have a traditional redshirt left as he used it his freshman year in 2021.
When the waiver was sent, the NCAA’s case manager sent feedback to Ole Miss on Dec. 18 that they were not leaning towards granting it but invited contemporaneous medical information to be sent from Chambliss’ situation in 2022. Mars argues for Chambliss that the bylaw doesn’t require that specific information.
What Ole Miss and Chambliss have to prove is that he was "unable to participate in intercollegiate athletics as a result of a life-threatening or incapacitating injury or illness."
While players have received sixth years for medical redshirt reasons, Chambliss’ situation is trickier as he switched not just schools, but also levels of college football. Mars is diving deep into the NCAA bylaws, specifically that Chambliss is seeking 12.6.1.7.1. That waiver bylaw requires "objective evidence.” The one that requires "contemporaneous or other appropriate medical documentation” is a medical hardship waiver, which Chambliss is not applying for.
"I'm baffled why this waiver wasn't granted back in November just based on the irrefutable, objective evidence," Mars told ESPN.
"The NCAA is attempting to impose a higher burden of proof on a young man who is without any fault, has satisfied all the requirements of the NCAA rules, and who's been an outstanding representative of college football -- both on and off the field."
The documentation already provided includes a statement from Dr. Anthony Howard, the ear, nose, and throat specialist who treated Chambliss, along with 91 pages of medical records that are extensive in documenting the issues. But the NCAA is playing hardball with real-time documentation that they want produced in order to grant the waiver.