To the surprise of perhaps nobody, the Mississippi Supreme Court on Friday denied the NCAA’s petition to appeal Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss’ injunction against the governing body of college athletics.

That means the final hurdle likely has been cleared for Chambliss, one of the nation’s most exciting and productive players, to play for the Rebels this fall. Chambliss will enter the season as one of the top candidates for the Heisman Trophy.

“We find that the petition should be denied,” Presiding Justice Josiah Dennis Coleman wrote in the one-page Supreme Court order turning down the NCAA’s appeal.

Chambliss led Ole Miss to a school record 13 victories and the national semifinals in 2025. Ole Miss ended the season with a No. 3 ranking, its highest since 1962.

Chambliss’ legal saga began when he petitioned the NCAA for a medical waiver that would give him another year of eligibility. Chambliss believed respiratory problems caused him to miss the 2022 season at Michigan’s Division II Ferris State and that he should receive a medical redshirt.

The NCAA denied his petition. Chambliss then sued the NCAA in Lafayette County Chancery Court. Judge Robert Whitwell ruled against the NCAA on Feb. 12 after a day-long hearing in Pittsboro, granting the temporary restraining order that Chambliss requested against the association.

Whitwell ruled that the NCAA “acted in bad faith” when it denied Chambliss’ appeal for another season of eligibility. The NCAA appealed, and a panel of three Supreme Court justices blocked that appeal Friday.

The chancery and Supreme Court decisions were quite predictable.

Chambliss threw for an SEC-best 3,937 yards in 2025, throwing for 22 touchdowns compared to only three interceptions. A fantastic runner as well, Chambliss ran the football for 527 yards and another eight touchdowns.

Chambliss and Texas quarterback Arch Manning are generally considered the top two candidates for the 2026 Heisman.

Chambliss transferred to Ole Miss in the spring of 2025 after leading Ferris State University to the Division II national championship in the 2024 season.

The NCAA argued that Chambliss, who spent four years at Ferriss and then one at Ole Miss, had used up his allowed five years of eligibility to play a maximum of four seasons.

But Chambliss didn’t play at all his first two seasons at Ferris. He red-shirted as a freshman in 2021 and then was plagued by severe upper respiratory illness as a sophomore. He testified that he was told the 2022 season would count as a medical redshirt season. The NCAA argued otherwise.