Nick Saban highlights importance of Mississippi State re-signing Kamario Taylor
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Nick Saban is all too familiar with how strong play at the quarterback position can equal strong results and even championships.
The legendary former Alabama and LSU head coach has 7 national championships in the SEC to show for that belief regarding quarterbacks.
And when Saban sees a difference-maker at the position, he tells fans now, being an ESPN college football analyst. Earlier this week, Saban digested the big news out of Starkville that dynamic quarterback Kamario Taylor was returning to Mississippi State for the 2027 season.
Taylor was one of the best stories in college football during the month of September, helping the upstart Bulldogs to a stunning 4-0 start before the losses — and, unfortunately for Taylor, the injuries — started piling up. The sophomore sensation will have to wait until next fall to show that dynamic play again, having been ruled out for the rest of the 2026 season, but the point is that he’ll be coming back at all.
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While he was healthy and able this fall in Starkville, Taylor showed his value as one of the rising stars in the SEC and all of college football. He threw for 1,460 yards and ran for another 147 yards in parts of just 6 games before being ruled out for the rest of the year in late October. Taylor threw 17 touchdown passes to just 4 interceptions, he ran for another score, and his 81.8 QBR ranks 10th in the country.
He won’t be able to improve on those numbers, but Saban is ecstatic that he’s coming back for more at Mississippi State in 2027. During his weekly Friday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Saban shared exactly why Taylor’s return is so vital.
“For Mississippi State, Kamario Taylor is someone who can reestablish the tradition of that program. I think (head coach) Jeff Lebby has done a really good job there. But to have a quarterback of that caliber to make a commitment, he’s going to draw other players to come in and play with him, because he’s that good,” Nick Saban said.
Here is Saban’s whole rant on Taylor coming back and also how the money involved with his return is part of the new reality in college football:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
