Kamario Taylor back in business as Bulldogs ramp up spring

2025 was a chance for Kamario Taylor to get his feet wet in college football and the Macon native did just that with Mississippi State.

The Noxubee County product spent the first part of the season coming into the game for certain situations, but his freshman year would end with him taking over as starting quarterback. For the season, Taylor had 629 passing yards and another 458 rushing yards with 13 touchdowns total and just one interception.

With year one now down, Taylor is taking part in his first spring as QB1 and the leader of the team. He spoke to the media this week about that, recovering from offseason surgery and the new team.

Question: What’s it like taking part in your first spring as the starting QB?

KT: “The first couple of days, I’ve been taking the field with the right mindset and keeping the offense up. We have our up days and our down days and I’m trying to make sure we stay level-headed as an offense. I’m just excited to be back.”

Q: Going back to that injury you had in the bowl game, what were your thoughts when that happened and did you think you’d be back healthy at this point?

KT: “I was confident. In the moment, I was down but after the game I was back walking and knew that I was going to be fine, especially with our training staff. We have top tier.”

Q: Was the procedure that you had because of that hit or was that just wear and tear from the season?

KT: “Just some wear and tear, it wasn’t about the hit. I had tweaked my ankle before in high school so it was always a lingering injury. I had the surgery for future references. I was back running three weeks after the surgery because of the training room.”

Q: Have you had a chance to dive back into the Egg Bowl and the bowl game since the season ended and what did you learn?

KT: “I watched it my first week back to go learn from myself. In order to not repeat history, you’ve got to learn from it. I just took advantage of watching film learning what I did wrong and what I could have done better to protect myself.”

Q: What did you learn from your season as a whole?

KT: “Just being able to take advantage of the opportunities presented to you. Blake was very good at supporting me. He always kept me up even when we got the news he was going to be injured in the last game. When I got the chance to start, he was there for me helping me learn the plays, learn the defense and knowing that they were going to try and trick me. The moral of that story was to take advantage of every opportunity that is given to me.”

Q: What’s it been like working with new quarterbacks coach Kevin Johns?

KT: “Coach Johns is a great guy. He’s very organized and keeps everything structured.”

Q: What have you seen from the new receivers?

KT: “Explosive plays. We’re going to score from far a lot. We’ve got Zion (Ragins). We lost (Brenen Thompson), we lost (Jordan Mosley) and some guys to the transfer portal and I hope those guys are well, but the guys we brought in are some dudes. (Marquis Johnson), (Sanfrisco Magee), Ayden (Williams), (Anthony Evans), Gracen (Harris). We’ve got guys that can fill in every spot. Even the freshmen can go out there and play.”

Q: What are a couple of areas the offense needs to take steps to get better?

KT: “Just being a team. Being a brotherhood. When we do that, instead of playing for teammates playing for brothers, you’ll play harder.”

Q: What’s your thoughts on the offensive line?

KT: “They’re going to be good. Strong, talented, very physical and they want to hit people. That’s a good sign from the o-line. (Canon) Boone stands out as a good leader. DJ Chester, Miles McVey, Saquon Miles and really all of them standout. (LJ Prudhomme) is going to be a dawg.”

Q: Three new QBs are in the room, what stands out about those guys?

KT: “Since the day we met, we’ve been a brotherhood. Been a family. Cheering each other on during our accomplishments, helping each other up when we’ve got bad plays on film. The competition is very good. We’ve got AJ (Swann), Jaden (Rashada), Brodie (McWhorter) and Billy (Puckett). All of them can play at any moment, so it keeps everybody on their toes every second of the day.”

Q: What have you seen from the two freshmen running backs JJ Hill and Cooper Crosby?

KT: “They’ve got a chance to be a real dynamic duo. They’ve got to learn the plays and have a ways to go, but once they get it all together and put it all together, they’re going to be a force here.”

Q: What’s it like having your brother, Jaiden, here and having him under your wing?

KT: “It’s fun. Sometimes I catch myself looking over there trying to be a big brother instead of being a teammate so I’m trying to get out of that phase. It’s very fun watching him grow as a person and a player. He’s becoming Jaiden, not JT.”