Mississippi State QB Kamario Taylor needs season-ending surgery

Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor will miss the rest of the season with a toe injury that will require surgery.

"Nobody wants to be on that field more than Kamario," Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said Tuesday. "I know how much this team means to him, and how much he means to this team. We'll be right there with him throughout his recovery. He's the ultimate teammate and competitor. ... You see it in the work he's put in and the way our players and coaches believe in him the way they do."

The sophomore is scheduled for surgery this week.

"Over the last few weeks, I've worked every day with our medical staff and done everything possible to be out there with my teammates. Missing the rest of this season is hard to accept, but I know God has a plan," Taylor said in a statement.

"... My role will look different these next several weeks, but my commitment to this team won't change. I'll do whatever I can to help my brothers down the stretch, and I need the Bulldog Family to do the same. Have these guys' backs the same way you've always had mine."

Taylor aggravated the injury in the first half of last Saturday's 23-15 home loss to Oklahoma, the Bulldogs' third straight defeat.

"On his scramble, when he took off, he felt it a little bit," Lebby said after the game. "So it felt like the right thing to do was to get him out of the game."

Taylor completed 65.4% of his passes for 1,460 yards and co-leads the SEC with 17 touchdown passes in six games this season.

Freshman Parker Puckett likely will be the starter Saturday when Mississippi State (4-3, 2-3) visits No. 11 Texas (5-2, 2-2).

--Field Level Media