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Is Kamario Taylor Going To Transfer? Nick Saban Forced Him To Answer With Public Call For Illegal Tampering

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Kamario Taylor transfer portal Mississippi State NIL tampering
iStockphoto / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

It sounds like Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor is not going to transfer. He bleeds maroon and white.

The true sophomore signal-caller addressed his future after a statement win over Missouri.

Unfortunately, one of the best starts in college football comes with a lot of outside noise. Nobody is willing to live in the moment. Not even Nick Saban, who called for tampering!

Kamario Taylor is balling.

Mississippi State began the 2026 season at 4-0 with a victory on Saturday. It is the second year in a row where the Bulldogs have started at 4-0 after 11 years with at least one loss through their first four games.

Kamario Taylor is the primary catalyst for success. At 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, the Magnolia State-native was a four-star prospect in the recruiting Class of 2025 and ranked as the No. 8 player at his position and a top-100 player overall.

Only 10 schools presented Taylor with an offer because it seemed like he was going to end up in Starkville no matter what they could offer him. And sure enough, that is exactly what happened. He committed to Mississippi State in 2023. He stayed committed through multiple staff changes.

Head coach Jeff Lebby played Taylor in all 11 games of his freshman season but did not start him until the final game of the regular season. The rest is (going to be) history.

Taylor completed 69% of his passes for 1,192 yards and 14 touchdowns with only two interceptions and ran for 185 yards and a touchdown in wins over ULM, Minnesota, South Carolina and Missouri. His performance against the Tigers was phenomenal.

Unfortunately, the success of the Bulldogs is largely overshadowed by the predatory nature of college football in 2026.

Is Mississippi State’s starting quarterback going to enter the transfer portal?

Because Mississippi State does not hold the same brand equity as other blue blood programs like Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia or Miami, many college football fans and pundits do not think Kamario Taylor will play his entire career in his home state. Much of the talk surrounding his impressive sophomore season is tied to what a lot of people think is an inevitable entry into the transfer portal.

A program with a “better chance to win a national championship” (whatever that means) and more money is going to offer him a huge NIL deal to play his junior (and maybe senior) year at a school that is not Mississippi State. Players transfer “up” all the time.

Even Nick Saban said it on College Gameday! The legendary head coach actively called for tampering!

“If I was coaching right now, I’d be trying to get Kamario Taylor to get in the portal.”

Taylor and the Bulldogs are not able to enjoy the early-season success. Their wins are clouded by transfer chatter. It got so loud that the quarterback had to address his future after the game. He’s not going anywhere.

His comments on Saturday are in line with what he has already said in the past. He had the chance to transfer after last season.

“In today’s time, a lot of guys take the money and run. The money is going to be there. The money is going to come. I wasn’t going to chase money. I wanted to chase a place that made me feel like I was at home and a place where I felt like I would get developed the way I have under Leb.”

Taylor chose to stay home.

Mississippi State means a lot to him and his family.

The Bulldogs are also prepared to be “as competitive as they need to be” to keep their starting quarterback in terms of NIL. Head coach Jeff Lebby is only concerned with the present, not with the transfer talk.

“I give it zero attention. For us, our guys inside our locker room, we know exactly who we got. We know exactly where we’re going. There’s incredible vision. There’s been great vision and a great plan and people love being inside our building every day. Again, we’re far from perfect, but where we’re going is special. (Taylor) is going be leading us there.”

That settles that. Kamario Taylor is not going anywhere.