Kirk Herbstreit names his 'face of college football' for 2026

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The 2026 college football season may hold more intrigue at the quarterback position than we've seen in quite some time. From guys like Arch Manning and Dante Moore to Julian Sayin and CJ Carr, the 2027 NFL Draft class of passers is expected to be one of the best we've seen in the last decade.

However, ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit thinks that there's one player out there who should be mentioned above all of those other names.

To Herbstreit, it's Ole Miss Rebels' passer Trinidad Chambliss who will rule them all in 2026.

"He, I think, is going to be the face of college football this year," Herbstreit said to On3's Andy Staples. "I think he's as good as the sport has to offer at that position."

In his one year with Ole Miss, the former JUCO player dazzled, throwing for 3,927 yards, 22 touchdowns, and just three interceptions, while also rushing for 527 yards and eight touchdowns. Chambliss led Ole Miss to a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinal, where they lost a close game to the Miami Hurricanes. Despite all of the drama with former head coach Lane Kiffin leaving in the middle of the postseason run, Chambliss was able to hold up and lead his team.

While the general public may not be as high on Chambliss as they are on other QBs in this class, there are high expectations for the Rebels to keep things rolling this year, now with former defensive coordinator Pete Golding leading the charge as head coach. If he can find similar success to what they did last year, you have to believe that Chambliss is going to be a big reason why.

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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Kirk Herbstreit names his 'face of college football' for 2026

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