Kirk Herbstreit Predicts New Face of College Football Over Arch Manning

Longtime ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit spent 30 years building his reputation as the most trusted voice in college football, so when he tells you who the face of the sport is, you should listen.

College football's yapping season is in full swing, and the preseason chatter runs through Heisman predictions, playoff picks and preseason rankings.

On Tuesday, Herbstreit joined the Pat McAfee Show and pushed one name to the front of the line, and it was not a name many fans would've expected.

Kirk Herbstreit picks Trinidad Chambliss over Arch Manning

Co-host Darius Butler asked Herbstreit about the most impactful familiar face in a new place for 2026, a coach or player who could reshape the season.

Herbstreit took the question somewhere else. He looked past the Texas hype around Arch Manning and landed on the Ole Miss quarterback who forced his way back onto the field.

"I think Trinidad Chambliss could be the face of College Football heading into the season..

He's so refreshing to be around and he has a great personality" ~ @KirkHerbstreit #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/K6CQEaREzU
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 4, 2026

"The face of the sport going into the season, as much as people are going to talk about Arch Manning, I really think Trinidad Chambliss at Ole Miss, him getting that (extra) year, it looked like he might not get it, then they went down to Oxford, talked to a judge and everything got taken care of," Herbstreit said.

He kept going and showed affection for Chambliss. "He is so, he is so refreshing when you get around this guy. You guys should have him on the show before the season starts. If you, if you haven't had him on yet, you'll instantly fall in love with his personality."

Trinidad Chambliss court fight and Ole Miss 2026 outlook

The "everything got taken care of" line skips over a five-month legal war. The NCAA denied Chambliss a sixth year in early January, then upheld the denial in February. His lawyers went to a Mississippi state court, and Judge Robert Whitwell granted a preliminary injunction, ruling that the NCAA ignored medical evidence from his 2022 season at Ferris State and acted in bad faith.

The NCAA filed a 658-page appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court in March. By late March, that court denied the appeal, and Chambliss was cleared to play in 2026.

Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (6) speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The reason this legal battle mattered was what he did in his first year in Oxford. Chambliss threw for 3,937 yards, 22 touchdowns and just three interceptions, added 527 yards and eight scores on the ground, won SEC newcomer of the year and finished eighth in the Heisman race while dragging Ole Miss to the College Football Playoff semifinals. He did all of that without a full offseason as the starter.

He could have accepted the NCAA ruling and entered the draft as a projected Day 2 pick. He came back instead, and at SEC Media Days in Tampa he explained why. "Coming back to Ole Miss, I feel like I wanted to stamp my legacy there," Chambliss said. "I feel like it was unfinished business."

Ole Miss looks different around him. Lane Kiffin left for LSU and took staff and players with him, and Pete Golding took over as head coach. Golding kept Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy in the building with a pitch built on legacy rather than money. Now the schedule sets up a revenge story Herbstreit already flagged.

The Rebels open against Louisville in Nashville on Sept. 6, then host Kiffin and LSU in Oxford on Sept. 19 for the coach's first game against the program he left.

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