Kamario Taylor is only three games into his sophomore season, but he's already turning heads in Tuscaloosa's old backyard. The Mississippi State quarterback has been the best story in college football nobody saw coming. Nick Saban is retired, sure.
But he's still watching closely, and he's not shy about who he'd be chasing if he still had a roster to fill. Speaking on ESPN's College GameDay ahead of Mississippi State's Week 4 clash with Missouri, Saban didn't hold back. "If I was coaching right now, I'd be trying to get Kamario Taylor to get in the portal," Saban said.
Saban also picked the Bulldogs to beat Missouri. But it's the Taylor comment that's making the rounds. Here's the catch, though.
NCAA rules bar coaches from contacting players at rival schools unless they've entered the transfer portal. So Saban's line, playful as it sounds, sits right on the edge of what's actually allowed. Taylor hasn't made it easy to ignore.
Through three games, he's racked up 1,010 total yards, and he's the only Power Four quarterback with 800-plus passing yards and 175-plus rushing yards this season. He's thrown 11 touchdowns against a single interception. The signature moment came against South Carolina.
Mississippi State trailed 16-0 and looked done. Taylor had other plans, throwing four touchdowns and going 18 of 26 for 251 yards as the Bulldogs stormed back to win 41-34. That comeback probably tells you more about why Saban's paying attention than the raw numbers do.
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