Mississippi State Quarterback Kamario Taylor Will Miss the Rest of the Season, and Texas Now Prepares for Billy Puckett
Monday's uncertainty is over: ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Tuesday that Taylor faces toe surgery and is out for the year, leaving Puckett — 41 of 64 for 368 yards this season — in line to start Saturday night in Austin.
Mississippi State's quarterback question for Saturday's game at Texas has been answered. Starting quarterback Kamario Taylor will miss the rest of the 2026 season because of his toe injury, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel, whose report Athlon Sports carried Tuesday. 'Sources: Mississippi State star QB Kamario Taylor will miss the rest of the season, as he faces surgery on his injured toe,' Thamel reported. 'Taylor has an appointment today to get his toe checked out by a specialist and could have surgery as early as tomorrow. He's expected to make a full recovery.'
The answer arrived a day after Bulldogs coach Jeff Lebby left the door open. 'We're still in the process of looking at everything,' Lebby said Monday. 'He is doing good. His spirits are good, but as we continue to move forward, I think we'll know a lot more here in the next 48 hours.'
Taylor's season ends where his comeback did. He first suffered the turf toe injury in a late-September win over Missouri, played through it against Alabama, missed the loss to LSU, and tried to return against Oklahoma — a comeback that lasted 12 plays. He completed two of five passes for 10 yards before aggravating the injury while scrambling.
Mississippi State will now turn elsewhere at quarterback in Austin, with Billy Puckett likely in line to take over the starting role, per Athlon's account. Puckett has completed 41 of 64 passes for 368 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions across four games this season. Texas enters Saturday's matchup at 5-2 overall and 2-2 in SEC play after beating Ole Miss 34-27 last weekend; kickoff at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturday.
