Mario Cristobal has already shown what a well-funded Miami rebuild can look like through the transfer portal, and now the Hurricanes could be in position to chase another major quarterback addition if Mississippi State star Kamario Taylor becomes available.
That possibility is tied directly to a frustrating end for Taylor’s season. Mississippi State announced Tuesday that the 19-year-old quarterback will miss the rest of the year with a toe injury.
He is expected to have surgery and make a full recovery. His final line for the season: 1,460 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and a 65.4 completion percentage on 104-of-159 passing.
Before the injury cut everything short, Taylor had helped Mississippi State jump out to a 4-0 start, including a 31-24 win over No. 19 Missouri.
He first got hurt on Sept. 26, then tried to push through the issue against Alabama and Oklahoma before sitting out against LSU. In the end, rest wasn’t enough to keep him on the field.
Taylor’s rise had turned him into one of the more compelling underdog stories in the sport, but the season now ends on a difficult note. That has sparked talk about whether he could enter the transfer portal, especially with NIL dollars reshaping what schools can offer. For Mississippi State, keeping the Macron, Miss., native may get a lot harder if that market opens up.
Miami would be a natural suitor if Taylor hits the portal. The Hurricanes are rumored to have paid Carson Beck $4 million and Darian Mensah $6.5 million, and the program has already built a recent track record of bringing in high-priced quarterbacks and getting results.
In 2024, Cam Ward arrived from Washington State, then went on to become the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after a Heisman Trophy season with Miami. Beck followed that path, leading the Hurricanes to their first National Championship since the 2002 college football season before becoming a third-round pick this year.
Mensah has kept the momentum rolling, currently leading the Football Bowl Subdivision in completion percentage at 81.4 and helping Miami to a 7-0 record, 5-0 in the ACC, while the Hurricanes sit No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
The fit may not be simple, though. Mario Cristobal would like to give his younger quarterback room time to develop, and Taylor has his own ties to Mississippi State.
He grew up a Bulldogs fan and has preferred to stay home. Still, the financial reality of modern college football is hard to ignore.
CBS Sports analyst Pete Prisco put it bluntly on Tuesday: "If you're going to get $2 million at Mississippi State and $6 million in Miami, go to Miami," he said. "That's what college football is right now."
Mississippi State Athletic Director Zac Selmon and the rest of the program now face a familiar challenge: building enough around a rising star quarterback to keep him from looking elsewhere.
Taylor isn’t the only young player whose future has become part of the portal conversation. Oregon State freshman wide receiver Jesse Legree, who leads the Football Bowl Subdivision with 1,040 receiving yards on 46 catches, officially re-signed with the program for the 2027-28 college football season on Friday.
The portal opens Jan. 4, and Miami will be waiting to see whether Taylor becomes part of its next quarterback chase.
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