You should never overreact to a spring game, but you can still find some things to takeaway from one. Here are three takeaways from MSU football’s 2025 spring game…
Mississippi State football concluded its 2025 spring practices on Saturday, with the Bulldogs, coached by second-year head coach Jeff Lebby, taking to the field at Davis Wade Stadium for the Maroon and White Spring Game.
In a shortened, two-quarter matchup, the White team triumphed over the Maroon team with a score of 9-0. While this game didn’t feature as much excitement as the 2024 spring game, it’s important to note that last year’s team struggled with a 2-10 record, so there’s no need for overreactions in spring evaluations.
Nonetheless, there are still some takeaways from the event. Here are three highlights from the 2025 Maroon and White game…
Kamario Taylor lived up to the hype
The most significant takeaway from the spring game is quarterback Kamario Taylor’s performance. As the highest-rated QB signee in Mississippi State’s history, the true freshman lived up to expectations on Saturday. Although his first pass attempt went high, he quickly found his rhythm. Taylor demonstrated impressive arm strength and seemed to have solid control of the offense after just one spring practice. He led the only two scoring drives of the game, finishing with a dramatic 30-yard touchdown pass to Sanfrisco Magee. While it’s too soon to determine if he will make an immediate impact, he certainly stands out as more than just an ordinary freshman.
The defensive front looks significantly improved
Last year, the Mississippi State defense really struggled, particularly in the front line, showing talent akin to a Group of Five program and lacking depth comparable to a lower division. However, with new transfers joining the team, the defense is expected to improve, at least somewhat, in 2025, and they showed promise during the spring game. They effectively contained the run game and generated pressure, recording six sacks. While some of this success can be attributed to an offensive line that still needs improvement (which I’ll discuss), having SEC-caliber talent in the defensive front makes a significant difference. We still have a long way to go before we can assess whether this will be a strong unit, but they are unlikely to be pushed around as they were last year.
The offensive line is still a work in progress
On the other hand, the success of the defensive front highlights that the Bulldog offensive line still has room for improvement. While we acknowledge the talent Mississippi State possesses in the backfield, the run game struggled to gain momentum, aside from a few good plays, due to a lack of push from the offensive line. Additionally, the aggressive defense created significant pressure. To their credit, the offensive line was divided up, and starter Albert Reese was absent. However, it has been clear since the beginning of spring that Jeff Lebby is looking to bring in more offensive linemen through the transfer portal to bolster that unit, and today’s performance underscored the need for that.
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