STARKVILLE — Asked after a playoff game in November 2023 what Mississippi State fans could expect from him when he arrives on campus, Noxubee County quarterback KaMario Taylor responded simply: “Greatness.”

More than a year after he first committed to MSU during his junior season, the four-star prospect signed his letter of intent Wednesday as one of 24 new high school and junior college signees with the Bulldogs.

“He can do it all. He can do things you can’t coach,” MSU head coach Jeff Lebby said. “He’s got his best ball ahead of him. The guy is incredibly intelligent, he plays the game the way we want him to play it, and he just has this bright light inside of him and gets the most out of all the guys who are around him, too. There are so many positives for him, but I love who he is as a young man.”

Taylor committed to the Bulldogs more than a month before Lebby was hired and turned over most of the previous coaching staff, and remained on board through the coaching transition and a 2-10 season this fall, MSU’s worst campaign in more than 20 years. He will try to lead Noxubee County to a state title on Thursday and has nearly 4,000 yards of total offense in his senior season.

His top receiver this year is his younger brother, junior Jaiden Taylor, who announced his commitment to play for the Bulldogs on Wednesday.

“KaMario and his family, just incredibly appreciative of their support, their loyalty as we’ve gone through this,” Lebby said. “When you have a big-time, high-level quarterback in the early part of your class, you have the ability for him to create some relationships and make it really hard on kids to think about doing other things.”

Lebby and MSU inked four other four-star recruits, including a much-needed edge rusher in Tyshun Willis, who chose the Bulldogs over Ole Miss and Missouri, among others. MSU brought in safety Tony Mitchell out of East Mississippi Community College, the No. 2 ranked junior college recruit in the country, although the Bulldogs did lose the only player ahead of him when defensive lineman Zavion Hardy — a previous MSU commit — signed with South Carolina.

The Bulldogs managed to flip four-star cornerback Kyle Johnson, a Louisiana product, away from his commitment to Houston. Johnson also had an Ole Miss offer, though he had been committed to the Cougars since July.

“This guy looks like an SEC defensive back,” Lebby said. “He’s a ball hawk, he has great instincts, he plays both sides of the ball, he’s got return ability. He plays really tough. I love what he’s going to bring to the table for us.”

MSU was dealt a blow later in the day when four-star linebacker Tyler Lockhart, the brother of Bulldogs offensive lineman TJ Lockhart, flipped to Ole Miss. But hours after that, Lockhart signed with MSU after all, giving Lebby another top-10 in-state prospect.

Depth on the defensive line was an issue for the Bulldogs throughout the 2024 season — to the point where a tight end was playing the role of a Rebels defensive lineman as MSU prepared for the Egg Bowl. Losing Hardy will sting for Lebby, but in addition to Willis, the Bulldogs signed junior college three-stars Jamarcus Moye and Mason Clinton to bolster their defensive front.

“We need big people to play with and to practice against,” Lebby said. “We fell short in a huge way. But there is a plan in place to get it fixed. You go sign a bunch of defensive linemen who are 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4, 290 to 330 pounds, you’re getting better.”

Ten of MSU’s signees are from the Magnolia State, and the Bulldogs mostly stuck to the SEC’s footprint by bringing in multiple players from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Tennessee. The only exception was Matthew Lefeau, an offensive lineman from Tacoma, Washington.

“I’ve talked nonstop about the five-hour radius, and we were able to hit on that in a really good way,” Lebby said. “You look at (offensive lineman) Breyden Turnage, who is just coming off playing football for the first time in his career. We watched this dude play basketball and baseball and he’s an elite athlete… He’s from the state of Tennessee, but again, inside of our five hours, and that’s what we’ll continue to focus on.”

Lebby has not made any changes yet to his coaching staff, but moves could be coming later on as MSU continues to build its 2025 roster. The Bulldogs’ defense, under first-year coordinator Coleman Hutzler, ranked 120th or worse out of 134 FBS teams in virtually every major category.

The transfer portal officially opens Monday, although 12 MSU players have already announced their intentions to enter, including starting cornerback Brice Pollock. Lebby said he hopes to add 15 or so transfers during the open portal window.

“I have been in constant evaluation of every piece of the program,” Lebby said. “We fell short of our expectation, and it was frustrating in the moment. There was a lot of disappointment. I’m incredibly proud of our toughness, our effort and how we tried to play, especially as we finished the year. But as we move forward, I’m incredibly excited about where we’re going.”