Keytaon Thompson will be around after all.

Thompson is back with the Bulldogs and currently listed as the team’s No. 2 depth chart heading into the Southern Miss game. The junior did not travel with Mississippi State to New Orleans for the season opener against Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday.

Joe Moorhead expressed his desire to keep Thompson on the roster last week, but the junior signal-caller entered the NCAA transfer portal immediately after losing the starting quarterback job to graduate transfer Tommy Stevens in training camp. Moorhead is familiar with Stevens having worked with him at Penn State, and last week, the coach said Stevens won the quarterback competition by a “significant” margin.

On Monday, Moorhead confirmed that Thompson will remain in Starkville for the season.

With Thompson back, Mississippi State has some much-needed quarterback depth. Even juggernaut teams such as Clemson and Alabama needed backup signal-callers to enter on short notice and win a game for them last year. No one likes sitting the bench, but Thompson will probably get some sort of playing time this season for the Bulldogs.