Sources: Former Auburn QB Deuce Knight signs with Ole Miss

Former Auburn quarterback Deuce Knight signed with Ole Miss on Sunday, sources confirmed to ESPN, giving the No. 6 Rebels a potential starter for 2026 if Trinidad Chambliss doesn’t win its fight for a sixth season of eligibility.

Knight, from Lucedale, Mississippi, was rated as the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2025. He committed to Notre Dame in September 2023 before transferring to Auburn, where he played in two games last season.

The 6-foot-4, 217-pound signal-caller spent much of the 2025 season behind Jackson Arnold and Ashton Daniels. He started in the Tigers’ 62-17 win over FCS program Mercer on Nov. 22, completing 15 of 20 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 162 yards and four scores.

Knight entered the transfer portal after new Auburn coach Alex Golesh brought in Byrum Brown, his former starting quarterback to South Florida.

On Friday, an NCAA committee denied Chambliss a waiver for a sixth year of eligibility. Ole Miss officials said they would appeal the decision, while Chambliss’ attorney, Tom Mars, indicated he may sue the NCAA to try to make his client eligible for the 2026 season.

Mars and Ole Miss officials had built their case on the assumption that Chambliss suffered from persistent respiratory problems during his sophomore season at Division II Ferris State. Chambliss was retroactively requesting a medical redshirt because he did not play that season due to his medical issue.

The NCAA said Ole Miss failed to provide sufficient medical evidence to show that was the reason he did not play.

“Documents provided by Ole Miss and the student’s previous school include a doctor’s note from a visit in December 2022, which indicated that the student-athlete was ‘doing very well’ since he was seen in August 2022,” the NCAA said in a statement.

The NCAA added: “Additionally, the student-athlete’s previous school indicated that it had no documentation of medical treatment, injury reports, or medical conditions involving the student-athlete during this period and cited ‘the developmental needs and competitive circumstances of our team’ as the reason the student-athlete did not play in the 2022-23 season. The waiver request was denied.”

Mars told ESPN that 91 pages of medical records were submitted to the NCAA.

“I understand that Ole Miss will appeal to the NCAA,” Mars told ESPN in a statement Friday. “However, there is now an opportunity to move this case toward a level playing field where Trinidad’s rights will be determined by the Mississippi justice system and not some bureaucrats in Indianapolis who don’t care about the law or doing what is right. Pursuing this course of action is a decision that only Trinidad and her parents can make.”

In Chambliss’ first season with the Rebels, he was named SEC Newcomer of the Year after throwing for 3,937 yards with 22 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He also rushed for 527 yards with eight scores.

After taking over in Ole Miss’ third game, Chambliss helped the Rebels to a 13-2 record. The Rebels fell to No. 10 Miami 31-27 in the CFP semifinals at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Thursday.

Austin Simmons, who opened the 2025 season as the Rebels’ starter until he was injured, transferred to Missouri.

On3 first reported that Knight had committed to Ole Miss.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel contributed to this report.