How close Kamario Taylor was to playing for Mississippi State vs LSU and what's next
· Yahoo Sports
BATON ROUGE, LA — Mississippi State football coach Jeff Lebby said Kamario Taylor worked hard to play against LSU.
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But eventually, perhaps even the night before the game, the Bulldogs made the call for the star quarterback to sit out the Week 7 game.
No. 19 MSU (4-2, 2-2 SEC) lost 31-0 to No. 21 LSU (5-2, 2-2) at Tiger Stadium on Oct. 17 for the program's first shutout loss since 2020.
"As we moved through the week, and as we got closer and closer, even up to last night, he just wasn't (ready)," Lebby said. "He's worked his butt off to get back and go play. He's just not quite ready to play. He's going to need to have a great week this week and he will to give himself a chance to play this next Saturday. I'm proud of him and who's he's been. He's worked his butt off, but just not quite there yet."
Billy Puckett, the sophomore former walk-on from Jackson Prep, made his first career start. Taylor stood on the sideline for the game with a boot on his right foot. Mississippi State has not said what his exact injury is.
Taylor was questionable on the first two SEC availability reports, then downgraded to doubtful on Oct. 16 before getting ruled out 90 minutes before kickoff.
"He's not going to wake up tomorrow morning and be 100% so we're going to manage it," Lebby said.
MSU has no open dates remaining with Oklahoma (3-2, 1-1) next at Davis Wade Stadium on Oct. 24 (2:30 p.m.). It will be the first time Lebby as a head coach faces the team he played for before switching to a student coach because of an injury.
While the Bulldogs didn't score any points, they were able to move the ball into LSU territory on six different drives for 291 total yards. However, Puckett threw an interception on MSU's second drive of the game and then MSU turned the ball over on downs five consecutive times.
Puckett completed 16 of 26 passes for 121 yards and one interception with 36 rushing yards.
Kamario Taylor stats
Here are Taylor's stats this season:
- Completion percentage: 66.3%
- Passing yards: 1,450
- Passing touchdowns: 17
- Interceptions: 4
- Rushing yards: 159
- Rushing touchdowns: 1
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: How close Kamario Taylor was to playing for Mississippi State vs LSU and what's next