Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor’s season-ending surgery changed a lot more than Mississippi State’s plan for Austin. It also reshuffled the conversation about who needs to play over the final five games, because the transfer portal opens in January for players considering their next step.
For starters, three Bulldogs stand out as players whose futures in Starkville could depend on what happens between now and the Egg Bowl.
Jaden Rashada is running out of time to wait
Quarterback Jaden Rashada came out of Pittsburg, California, as a four-star quarterback and the No. 7 passer in the 2023 class, per 247Sports. Since then, he has made stops at Arizona State, Georgia, and Sacramento State before landing in Starkville as a redshirt junior.
His college résumé is thin for a player with that pedigree. He threw for 485 yards and four touchdowns as a freshman at Arizona State, never took a snap at Georgia, and went 16 of 41 for 239 yards at Sacramento State before a thumb injury cut his 2025 season short.
Rashada has remained outside the primary quarterback competition at Mississippi State. With Taylor out, the depth chart still lists Billy Puckett or AJ Swann at the top, which leaves the most famous name in the room on the outside looking in. Questions about his long-term role could grow if the next five games pass him by.
Marquis Johnson needs the ball more often
Wide receiver Marquis Johnson arrived from Missouri after catching 28 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns in 2025, and he has made his touches count. He has 13 catches for 218 yards and two scores on 22 targets this season, an average of 16.8 yards per reception.
In other words, the explosiveness is there, and the volume is not. Johnson opened the season with three catches for 99 yards and a touchdown against Louisiana-Monroe, added three more grabs and a score against South Carolina, and only seven of his catches have come outside those two games.
A new starting quarterback needs reliable targets, and a receiver averaging close to 17 yards per catch deserves a bigger slice of the plan.
Brodie McWhorter can play without losing a year
Freshman quarterback Brodie McWhorter was Mississippi State’s first official signee in the 2026 class after throwing for 2,167 yards, 27 touchdowns and four interceptions as a senior at Cass High School in Georgia. He had not appeared in a game through September.
Better still, the redshirt rule gives Jeff Lebby a free look. A player can appear in up to four games and keep the year of eligibility, and Mississippi State has five games left, including a home date with FCS Tennessee Tech Nov. 21.
Getting McWhorter meaningful snaps now would tell a young quarterback he is part of the plan. He made his own goal clear when he signed. “I just want to go in and compete and try to help Mississippi State football be better,” McWhorter said.
The coming weeks could also show whether additional practice repetitions translate into a meaningful opportunity on game day.
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