Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor would've been a prototype leader for Alex Golesh and Joel Gordon's veer-and-shoot offense in 2027 had the Auburn Tigers been an option in the transfer portal this coming January.
Taylor is off the board, though, having re-signed with the Bulldogs to stay in Starkville. Taylor is recovering from a severe toe injury that ended his season back in October.
ESPN's Pete Thamel reported the details of Taylor's deal, which starts at $7.5 million and can climb over $9 million. Taylor's presence is reportedly a major piece of the puzzle for Mississippi State's offense next season. The Bulldogs are set to start investing heavily in football again because of his re-signing.
"The timing of the signing will allow coach Jeff Lebby to build a recruiting/portal class around Taylor, as the school pitched Taylor on an uptick in overall investment," Thamel said.
"This deal is expected to be completed later today, per sources. It's significant for Jeff Lebby for portal/recruiting and roster building."
“One of the thing we realized is the level of quality players who are intrigued by joining Kamario at Mississippi State,” a source told ESPN.
Who could Auburn pivot to at QB in the transfer portal?
With Taylor and Missouri's Austin Simmons both re-signing with their respective schools, the top transfer portal options will be coming from dysfunctional situations.
Somehow, in 2026, that means Ohio State and Michigan.
Julian Sayin's season-ending shoulder injury destroyed the Buckeyes' season, though that may be because Ryan Day embraced true freshman Luke Fahey over former 5-star Ohio native Tavien St. Clair. Perhaps St. Clair is a good buy-low candidate coming out of Columbus this January if/when Ohio State sees a portal exodus out of the program. St. Clair may be the most likely guy to leave, and not getting a chance over Fahey probably drove his price down.
As for the Wolverines, Bryce Underwood used to be an eight-figure investment for LSU and Michigan. Now, his value is gone after struggling under Chip Lindsey in 2025 and struggling even worse under Jason Beck in 2026. Underwood has talent, but it's not been evident at the Big Ten level. While he could be the next Jackson Arnold, he could just as easily be a good fit in a veer-and-shoot offense. It'd be worth a call for Golesh if he feels Underwood's processing abilities haven't come close to their ceiling.
The portal market is shrinking for guys who are performing well this season. Finding a diamond in the rough may be a better bet this January for Golesh and Co.
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