A Childhood Dream Come True For Taylor
September 05, 2026 | Football
STARKVILLE – Kamario Taylor grew up right down the road from Mississippi State and always dreamed of becoming the Bulldogs' starting quarterback.
The thrill of tossing touchdowns and hearing the clang of thousands of cowbells is something Taylor thought about many times as a child while sitting in the stands at Davis Wade Stadium.
On Saturday night however, those childhood visions turned into reality as Taylor started his first game inside the very same venue he came to countless times as a kid and guided MSU to a 62-13 season-opening victory against ULM all while posting videogame numbers.
"I was a little nervous just because I hadn't played football in a couple of months," Taylor said. "Like, just out there live being able to get tackled and stuff. So I was very nervous from the jump. But once I got out there, it was all fun and games. Just going out there and just trusting my coaches, trusting my teammates to go out there, make plays and that just made my game easier today."
The sophomore signal caller connected on 22 of 34 throws for a career-high 354 yards and four touchdowns. He also added 59 yards on the ground on six attempts, including a 26-yard scoring scamper.
"He did a lot of good," said MSU head Jeff Lebby. "He led in a great way. He had great energy and great juice and we definitely want him to be able to go build on it."
Taylor was admittedly amped up making his first start in Maroon and White and missed on a deep shot on MSU's first play from scrimmage, overthrowing a streaking Zion Ragins for what likely would have been an early score.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pounder settled in from there and orchestrated a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on the Bulldogs' opening possession. In fact, State scored on eight consecutive drives to start the game – all with Taylor at the helm of the offense.
"What I liked is when it wasn't perfect, he played the next play," Lebby said. "And that's what we're going to need from him. He's going to make a ton of plays because of the athleticism. Him continuing to grow in the pocket - making plays in the pocket - is going to be critical for us. But I thought tonight he did some great things in the pocket."
Keeping his composure in the pocket while making the right reads and checkdowns in his progressions are areas that Taylor has put in a tremendous amount of work since his final two starts to close out the 2025 campaign in the Egg Bowl and Duke's Mayo Bowl.
Throughout the spring and training camp when teammates weren't allowed to tackle Taylor, he utilized that time to improve as a pocket passer instead of tucking the ball and turning up field to make plays with his feet.
"Just with the offseason, me working on my mechanics and stuff, it showed up a lot," Taylor said. "I stayed in the pocket more than I would have last year. A lot of times I probably would've ran out of the pocket, ran around and just created stress for myself for no reason. So I worked on staying poised in the pocket, locked into the game plan and was comfortable being inside the pocket instead of trying to make plays where I didn't have to make plays at."
Taylor's total commitment to Lebby's game plan paid off in the opener, tossing TDs to four different receivers throughout the night. He hooked up with Ragins, Anthony Evans III, Marquis Johnson and Sanfrisco Magee on scoring throws with Evans finishing with a career-high 118 yards and Johnson nearly joining him in eclipsing the century mark, ending with 99.
"He's elite," Evans said of Taylor. "I've been saying that since I've met him. He's a guy who's going to win the Heisman (Trophy) before it's all said and done. I'm excited to see what his future holds."
