STARKVILLE - Mississippi State’s trip to South Carolina on Sept. 19 brings a quarterback matchup built on more than just talent. Kamario Taylor and LaNorris Sellers share the kind of tools that jump off the screen: size, arm strength and the ability to hurt defenses with their legs.
The Bulldogs are 2-0 entering the 3:15 p.m. CT kickoff on SEC Network, and Taylor’s first real spotlight against a big SEC opponent comes with South Carolina’s Sellers on the other side. Sellers is older by two years, but the comparison starts to make sense fast.
“Two talented quarterbacks, two weapons,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said. “We'll have our hands full on Saturday.”
The similarities are easy to see. Sellers and Taylor are both built like problem-solvers for an offense - the kind of quarterbacks who can throw it all over the yard and turn broken plays into chunk gains on the ground.
Sellers is listed at 6-foot-3, 238 pounds. Taylor comes in at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds.
Taylor said he’s known about Sellers for a while.
"I've never met him a day in my life, but I have watched him," Taylor said on "The Paul Finebaum Show." "When I was in high school, I used to watch his highlights all the time.
He's 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5, every bit of 235-240 (pounds) and he's a wrecking ball. He can throw the ball, he can run the ball and he's a very good athlete."
Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby described Sellers this week as a player who can take over with both his arm and his legs.
"An incredibly dynamic player," Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said on Sept. 14 about Sellers. "I think obviously what he's doing in the offense now compared to what he was doing and what (new offensive coordinator) Kendal's (Briles) been able to do with him through the first two weeks, this guy's got a chance to make a ton of plays with his feet.
He can throw it all over the yard. We got to do a great job of getting him on the ground.
We got to do a great job plastering in coverage when he scrambles and breaks the pocket."
There’s another layer to this matchup, though, and it’s the part Mississippi State would like to keep Taylor away from. Sellers has already shown what this can look like when it clicks - and what happens when it doesn’t.
In 2024, Sellers threw for 2,534 yards with 18 passing touchdowns and seven interceptions, while adding 674 rushing yards rushing touchdowns. Last season, his numbers dipped to 2,437 passing yards, 13 passing touchdowns, eight interceptions, 270 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. South Carolina fell from 9-4 in 2024 to 4-8 in 2025.
The numbers tell part of that story. South Carolina also gave up 43 sacks, and offensive coordinator Mike Shula was fired nine games into the season.
Now the Gamecocks have Briles calling the offense, and he’s tied closely to the Mississippi State staff. Briles is Lebby’s brother-in-law, and the two run similar systems.
Sellers opened this season with 270 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and 1 rushing yard in South Carolina’s 57-0 win over Kent State. He followed that with a rougher outing against Towson, finishing with a career-worst 96 passing yards, no passing touchdowns, one interception, 119 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown in a 45-9 win.
Taylor has been more productive through Mississippi State’s first two games. He has 581 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, no interceptions, 145 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Sellers has 366 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, one interception, 120 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
Elsewhere around the program, former Mississippi State players Jahron Manning and Malick Sylla voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit without prejudice against the NCAA on Sept. 14, according to a document obtained by the Clarion Ledger. They had been seeking a fifth year of eligibility for 2026.
Both Manning and Sylla signed contracts in non-NFL pro leagues after the 2025 season. Their lawsuit was filed on Aug. 25 in Oktibbeha County Chancery Court, the same day the SEC announced a ban on professional players with severe penalties for teams that added them to the roster.
West Virginia transfer defensive lineman Eddie Kelley Jr., another player who sued the NCAA, was on the sideline for Mississippi State’s game at Minnesota but not in full uniform. He wore jersey No. 93, though he has not officially been added to the roster.
"He's just practicing," Lebby said. "I don't have an update on him right now."
Kelly had been scheduled for a preliminary injunction hearing on Sept. 8, but it was postponed to an unscheduled date.
In Other News...
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For Mississippi State fans, Simmons inclusion is the part worth watching most closely, because it keeps the Bulldogs in the middle of a quarterback discussion that is suddenly crowded with league heavyweights. When five SEC passers land in the same top-10 ranking, it says plenty about the depth at the position across the conference, and it only raises the stakes for every game these quarterbacks still have ahead of them. [Read more 🡒]
Kamario Taylor Has Mississippi State Fans Dreaming About The SEC Opener
Kamario Taylor has given Mississippi State a real early-season lift, and it comes at a time when the Bulldogs are about to find out a lot more about themselves. After two games, the quarterback has been efficient and productive, completing 67.9% of his passes for 581 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception while also adding production on the ground. For a program that has been searching for momentum, that kind of start naturally gets people looking ahead to the first SEC test.
South Carolina comes to Starkville in Week 3 to open conference play for both teams, and Mississippi State has enough going for it on both sides of the ball to at least make the matchup interesting. The Bulldogs have shown enough offensive punch and defensive competence to suggest an upset is within reach, but the real question is whether Taylor and the rest of the team can carry that early confidence into an SEC setting, where the margin for error shrinks fast. [Read more 🡒]