With just three weeks remaining until the start of the 2026 college football season, the excitement is building in Starkville, Mississippi, for year three of the Coach Jeff Lebby era. It’s a careful optimism, but the Bulldogs have the pieces on offense this season to bridge the gap of what seemed to be missing in the first two years under Coach Lebby, as the quarterback play has seemingly drastically improved, and the offensive line is starting to look more and more like an offensive line that appears to belong in the Southeastern Conference. Elsewhere, the Bulldogs added pieces and retained Fluff Bothwell for another season. 

So, with a little over three weeks until the 2026 season opener for Mississippi State against Louisiana Monroe, let’s take a deep dive into the Bulldogs’ offensive unit for this season. 

Starting with the man himself, KaMario Taylor. The pride of Noxubee County, a hometown hero, finally has his chance to lead the Bulldogs into year three of the Coach Lebby era by living up to his full potential. Last season, we saw Taylor in limited capacities, most recently in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against Wake Forest. In that game against the Demon Deacons, where he went 13 for 22 with no interceptions, he finished the game with 241 yards through the air with a touchdown through the air and another on the ground. KaMario finished last season with 13 touchdowns, eight of which came on the ground with only one interception. As far as excitement goes, Mississippi State has not had a quarterback of this caliber since Dak Prescott, who could do multiple things well and gave Mississippi State an added weapon to rely on as they look to take that next step in returning Bulldogs football to relevance once more. As for the folks who might doubt KaMario Taylor and his playing making decisons as a guy with limited college football starting experience, I encourage you to watch the tape; what you’ll see is a guy who has an unreal football IQ, added with a freakish talent mixed together by the intangibles that make an elite quarterback. For as long as he stays healthy, the raw talent at the quarterback position with KaMario Taylor is there for the Bulldogs to take that next step as a program. 

At the running back position, having Fluff Bothwell back for the 2026 season is a massive move for the Bulldogs’ offensive unit heading into the fall. Despite missing two games last season, Bothwell led the way in rushing for the Bulldogs last season with 677 yards and an average of 4.8 per carry. At the rate he was going, the 2026 season could be the first time a Mississippi State running back hits 1,000 for the first time in a few years. 

Out at wide receiver, the Bulldogs lost Brenen Thompson but return Anthony Evans and Ayden Williams. Mississippi State will also turn to Zion Ragins and Sam West at tight end to give the Bulldogs some needed snaps. Other names to monitor from the group heading into the season are those of Joeseph Skipworth, Sanfrisco Magee, Gracen Harris, and Marquis Johnson. 

At the position that Mississippi State needed to see the most improvement from the first two years, Coach Lebby and the coaching staff hit the transfer portal hard and added some units to the offensive line. Mississippi State has one returning starter from last season: Canon Boone, who returns to the Bulldogs after a successful 2025 season and got accustomed to KaMario Taylor and the Mississippi State offense. Mississippi State added Miles Mcvay, DJ Chester, LJ Prudhomme, and Jakheem Shumpert-Perkins from the portal to add bulk and depth to the offensive line. 

As the season approaches, the excitement is warranted for this Bulldogs’ offensive unit, as they finally have the pieces on the depth chart to win a few more games once the season kicks off. With KaMario Taylor and Fluff Bothwell leading the charge, expectations for the Bulldogs to finally have an offense that can compete for a few more wins in the Southeastern Conference, which in return could give the Bulldogs a winning record and a trip to the postseason without using the APR as the metric to get there. 

Photo Credits- Mississippi State football on X