The Gophers have spent plenty of time this week preparing for Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor, and for good reason. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound sophomore showed exactly why he has become such a problem for defenses in Saturday night’s 62-13 win over Louisiana-Monroe.
Taylor completed 22 of 34 passes for 354 yards and four touchdowns, and he added six carries for 59 yards and another score on the ground. He did it against a team picked to finish 13th in the 14-team Sun Belt Conference, but the size, arm strength and movement skills were impossible to miss.
That kind of performance is why Minnesota defensive coordinator Danny Collins and the rest of the staff have been building toward this matchup for months. The Gophers host Mississippi State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium, and they already had Taylor circled in the summer when they put together advance scouts for fall opponents.
They also gave the defense a taste of what was coming during one of the open practices in August, when the scout team offense ran a series of run-pass option plays designed to mirror what Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby likes to call.
That matters because the Bulldogs can stress Minnesota in more than one way. Taylor can beat a defense as a thrower, but he can also turn a broken play into a scramble and make it hurt. The Gophers will need clean run fits against RPO looks, and they’ll also have to account for running back Fluff Bothwell, a 5-foot-10, 230-pound load.
Minnesota got a fresh look at Taylor on Saturday night after the Gophers rolled FCS-level Eastern Illinois 59-7 on Thursday. That gave Collins and the staff a chance to settle in and watch Mississippi State live on TV, a useful head start before they dive into the game plan.
Taylor’s résumé is still relatively small, but the early returns have drawn plenty of attention. He was a four-star recruit from Macon, Miss., and started only two games as a freshman in 2025 - the Egg Bowl against rival Ole Miss and the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against Wake Forest. That was enough for Nick Saban to take notice.
“You’ve got Kamario Taylor, who nobody’s really heard much about at Mississippi State,” Saban was quoted by On3.com at SEC Media Days in July. “This guy could be the truth and the light now. He is really, really good.”
Todd McShay was just as impressed after seeing him at the Manning Passing Academy.
“Watching Kamario Taylor throw at Manning Passing Academy was an event,” McShay wrote on X. “He’s just different. This throw is stupid.”
There was more proof of that against Louisiana-Monroe, when Taylor uncorked a pass more than 50 yards in the air under pressure for a 70-yard touchdown to Marquis Johnson in the third quarter. The ESPNU broadcast also floated one of his nicknames, Super Kamario.
Taylor has shown he can do damage with his legs, too. In last year’s 39-19 loss to Ole Miss, he rushed 20 times for 173 yards and two touchdowns, though he completed only 15 of 31 passes for 48%, with no touchdowns and one interception. On Saturday, his completion rate jumped to 65%, and Mississippi State will like that improvement even if he also had a few throws that could have been intercepted but were dropped.
An anonymous SEC assistant coach told Athlon Sports, “(Taylor) is a phenom,” an anonymous SEC assistant coach told Athlon Sports. “He is athletically gifted.
He can do a lot of things for them this year, not only with his arm, but with his legs. He can keep plays alive, which turn into big plays.”
Minnesota is already treating him that way.
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