Ole Miss entered the offseason with a major question mark about who will be the Rebels’ starting quarterback in 2026.
Trinidad Chambliss is out of eligibility (for now) and Austin Simmons is headed to Missouri. That left the Rebels with only freshman AJ Maddox and 2026 signee Rees Wise.
Since then, Ole Miss has added former Auburn quarterback Deuce Knight and now have added some competition for him.
Multiple outlets are reporting that Ole Miss has signed former Louisiana quarterback Walker Howard out of the transfer portal. If that name sounds familiar to Ole Miss fans, it’s because Howard was with Ole Miss for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Louisiana QB Walker Howard has signed with Ole Miss, @mzenitz and I have learned.
It's a return to Oxford for Howard, who spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons with the Rebels. https://t.co/a1wJFEZZkH https://t.co/JoU7MRAJTN pic.twitter.com/7Jm6TBd7G4
— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) January 14, 2026
Howard is a former five-star recruit who signed with Ole Miss out of high school, but lost the battle for the starting job to Jaxson Dart. He spent two seasons as a backup before opting to go somewhere with a chance to be a starter and, if internet rumors are to be believed, get away from Lane Kiffin.
After the past couple of months, that rumor isn’t hard to believe.
Howard gives the Rebels are solid quarterback room for 2026, with or without Chambliss in it.
Should Chambliss prevail in his fight against the NCAA, he’ll return to Ole Miss as the unquestioned starter and as a favorite to win the Heisman Trophy (finished eighth in voting this season). Then Knight or Howard would battle for the backup job while younger quarterbacks continue learning and developing.
If Chambliss isn’t able to return in 2026, then expect Knight and Howard to enter spring practices in a full-fledged quarterback battle.
One final note: Howard’s reported signing is a sign that former Florida quarterback DJ Lagway won’t be flipping from his Baylor commitment to come to Ole Miss. But that always felt like a long shot.
Ole Miss 2026 Transfer Portal Class
Incoming Rebels
- CB Jay Crawford (Auburn)
- LB Keaton Thomas (Baylor)
- EDGE Nelson Maldonado (Nevada)
- CB Sharif Denson (Florida)
- DL Michai Boireau (Florida)
- DL Jeheim Oatis (Colorado)
- OL Carius Curne (LSU)
- S Edwin Joseph (Florida State)
- S Joenel Aguero (Georgia)
- QB Deuce Knight (Auburn)
- WR Cameron Miller (Kentucky)
- OL Troy Everett (Oklahoma)
- QB Walker Howard (Louisiana)
Outgoing Rebels
- QB Austin Simmons (Missouri)
- RB Domonique Thomas
- OL PJ Wilkins
- WR Winston Watkins
- LB Jaden Yates (Houston)
- CB Ricky Fletcher
- CB Chris Graves Jr.
- OL Ethan Fields
- OL Jude Foster
- S TJ Banks
- OL Devin Harper
