Kamario Taylor is blossoming for Mississippi State. A daunting SEC schedule awaits the sophomore QB

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Mississippi State has found the perfect player to lead its push to reestablish a competitive program in the unrelenting Southeastern Conference.

Kamario Taylor is blossoming into a star, and the sophomore quarterback has given the Bulldogs a boost of confidence and energy as they embark on their daunting SEC schedule.

With a dominant performance at Minnesota in the first road start of his career on a national telecast on CBS, Taylor produced more evidence that he's one of the best quarterbacks in college football with a bright future in front of him. The sophomore had 227 yards and three first-half touchdowns on 16-for-22 passing and ran 13 times for 86 yards on the Gophers.

“The way he played in the first half was about as clean and good as you can possibly play,” third-year Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said. “I'm proud of his presence, his command, his leadership.”

The Bulldogs (2-0), who were pegged for 15th out of 16 teams in the SEC preseason media poll, went 1-15 in conference play over Lebby’s first two years. After breezing by Louisiana-Monroe 62-13 in the opener and speeding past Minnesota 38-13 on Saturday, Mississippi State inched up the “others receiving votes” category in the latest Associated Press poll and landed at 32nd.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Taylor was rarely pressured when he dropped back to pass and easily found room to run when he didn’t like the picture in front of him. His poise in the pocket, accuracy with his throws and speed carrying the ball have put him on early watch lists for the 2028 NFL draft.

“He’s an amazing player,” Minnesota linebacker Maverick Baranowski said. “A lot of those throws out there were tight windows, great balls, double coverage. He was just putting them in there, and then obviously his ability to extend the play is unlike most people in the league.”

The Bulldogs offense scored on the first 12 possessions of the season with Taylor on the field, until he took a sack in the end zone in the third quarter against Minnesota that resulted in a fumble and the only touchdown of the game for the Gophers. Taylor singled out his lack of awareness on that play afterward, revealing he apologized to the defense for giving up those points himself.

He raved about an offensive line that was a major question mark entering the season and the production by running back Fluff Bothwell and beamed when a reporter during the postgame news conference at Minnesota asked about the defense's performance.

Better yet for the Bulldogs is he’s a uniting leader for the locker room and a lifelong “Hail State” fan who grew up in the tiny town of Macon, about 35 miles south of the campus in Starkville. But Taylor has managed to stay grounded in his faith, family and the football program with the accolades beginning to pile up.

“When I was in high school I used to look at everything that was said about me — good, bad, ugly, everything,” Taylor said. “I kind of got used to it, just learning how to block all of it out, because I do know what I signed up for. I know what all comes with it, and I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.”

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