Why Jeff Lebby said Kamario Taylor is focus of Mississippi State 2026 roster rebuild

STARKVILLE — Kamario Taylor stepped to his left in the pocket, then the Mississippi State football quarterback side-stepped to his right to make three Ole Miss defenders whiff on a sack.

He dashed up field with just one more defender to beat. Taylor juked him, scoring a 35-yard rushing touchdown.

That's the player MSU coach Jeff Lebby said is the center of the 2026 roster rebuild on Nov. 28.

It was after Taylor made his first career start in the Egg Bowl. Although it didn't lead to a win, the 38-19 loss for the Bulldogs (5-7, 1-7 SEC) to No. 6 Ole Miss (11-1, 10-1) showed a potential future star for MSU at quarterback.

“As we continue to build it the right way and build these pieces of the roster around (Taylor) that’s going to be really important,” Lebby said. “I think we got somebody that’s going to catch a snap every single down and is going to be an elite player in this conference and in America.

"So building it the right way around him, creating stability for him will be huge. We've got to go get the pieces up front, offensively, and that will be a huge point of emphasis as we ready for the portal piece of it."

Evaluating Kamario Taylor's first Mississippi State start

The Egg Bowl wasn't the first extended playing time this season for Taylor, a four-star freshman from Noxubee County.

He replaced starter Blake Shapen twice in the final month of the season because of injuries. Taylor played in all but two games, mainly for his running ability.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Taylor led MSU to a 97-yard opening drive touchdown against Ole Miss. He scored on a 22-yard rushing touchdown. The offense struggled after that though, scoring six points until Taylor's 35-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.

"I feel like I could've executed a lot better," Taylor said. "We left some stuff on the field. I wish I could get some plays back. Going into this, Coach Lebby made sure I was confident and Blake was very supportive of me, helping me learn like where they are going and what they're trying to do to try to mess with me. He was very supportive, so I went into the game very confident."

Taylor completed 15 of 31 passes for 178 yards and one interception on a pass that was tipped twice, one play after Taylor ran for a 39-yard gain. He rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns, the first MSU quarterback since Garrett Schrader in 2019 to have over 100 rushing yards in a game.

It wasn't perfect, as demonstrated by his completion percentage below 50%. Taylor will have to keep improving his accuracy. But the play-making ability was evident as he eluded tackles. The debut start was enough to give hope for Mississippi State in 2026.

MORE: Why Jeff Lebby turned to Kamario Taylor, benched Blake Shapen for Egg Bowl

"Moving forward, we are going to do some special things at Davis Wade," Taylor said. "We trust Coach Lebby 100%. We know he's going to put us in the right positions, so we just got to execute."

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Kamario Taylor will be center of Mississippi State 2026 roster