Current Ole Miss Football quarterback Trinidad Chambliss earned All-SEC second-team honors and was named the SEC Newcomer of the Year in 2025. He is considered a favorite for the Heisman Trophy this season. With backup quarterbacks Deuce Knight and AJ Maddox on the roster, the future for the most important position seems to be secure.
Other standout quarterbacks from the Rebels’ past include Jaxson Dart, Matt Corral, Chad Kelly, Bo Wallace and Ole Miss legends Eli and Archie Manning. The future quarterback room looks promising and could continue this rich lineage of successful college quarterbacks.
With Chambliss and Walker Howard as graduate seniors in the position group, the other quarterbacks on the roster are Knight, Maddox and Rees Wise.
Knight, a sophomore transfer from Auburn, is expected to serve as the primary backup for Chambliss this season. He saw his first snaps as a Rebel against Charlotte on Saturday, Sept. 12, throwing for 68 yards with a 50% completion percentage.
He also ran for 27 yards and a touchdown on four. One of the highlights of the game was when Knight hurdled a defender for a touchdown. He certainly seems to have the talent to be great after Chambliss leaves Oxford.
Knight was the No. 1 overall prospect in the state coming out of George County High School in Mississippi and was a top-30 recruit nationally in the 2025 recruiting class. He originally committed to Notre Dame before flipping his commitment to Auburn.
Knight was selected to participate in the Navy All-American Bowl, an annual game featuring the top high school football players in the country, and the Mississippi/Alabama All-Star Game, which features the top high school players from Mississippi and Alabama.
At 6 feet 5 inches and 230 pounds, Knight is a dynamic dual-threat quarterback who can extend plays with his athleticism. During his high school career, he recorded 7,855 passing yards and 56 touchdowns, while adding 1,361 rushing yards and 31 scores on the ground.
Ole Miss quarterback AJ Maddox is entering his third season with the Rebels and has become familiar with the program after arriving as a highly touted recruit. The four-star prospect from the class of 2024 chose the Rebels over Alabama, Texas A&M, Miami, Penn State and Louisville.
A Hattiesburg, Miss., native, Maddox spent three seasons as the starting quarterback at Oak Grove High School, leading the program to its first MHSAA Class 7A state championship during his senior season.
His stellar senior season at Oak Grove earned him recognition as FOX23 Gatorade Player of the Year. He was also named a finalist for Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year and earned All-State first team honors.
Rees Wise provides another young option in the Ole Miss quarterback room. The talented freshman from Westlake High School in Texas finished his high school career with 6,443 passing yards and 58 touchdowns.
A unanimous three-star prospect and top-50 quarterback in the 2026 recruiting class, Wise chose the Rebels over Nebraska, Texas Tech, SMU and Houston, among others.
Behind Chambliss, the talent in the Ole Miss quarterback room is undeniable, and the Rebels’ recruiting class provides even more reason for optimism. The Rebels currently have two quarterbacks committed in its 2027 recruiting class.
Keegan Croucher of Baylor School is a four-star recruit ranked No. 149 nationally, the No. 10 overall quarterback and the No. 7 overall prospect in Tennessee by 247Sports. Croucher chose Ole Miss over Kentucky, Penn State, Tennessee, Indiana, Georgia, Oregon, Miami and Michigan.
This summer, Croucher competed in the Elite 11, an invite-only national high school quarterback competition, and was selected as a finalist.
Crews Jenkins of Brentwood Academy in Tennessee, is a three-star recruit rated among the nation’s top-100 quarterbacks. He is ranked the No. 55 overall prospect in Tennessee according to 247Sports. Jenkins committed to the Rebels over Memphis and USF last May.
These two commits recently squared off in a matchup between their nationally ranked high school programs. Behind Croucher’s 172 passing yards and one touchdown through the air, No. 13 Baylor School defeated No. 18 Brentwood Academy 38-20 in the season opener, which was broadcast on ESPN2.
From experienced players already on the roster to talented prospects preparing to arrive in Oxford, Ole Miss has positioned itself well for life after Chambliss.
The Rebels have done what it takes to prepare for the future, and if the young talent develops as expected, fans could continue to see stellar quarterback play in Oxford for years to come.
