A former Alabama star thinks his alma mater will have its hands full when facing Kamario Taylor this Saturday. No. 7 Alabama heads to Starkville to face No. 16 Mississippi State in a battle between two undefeated SEC squads. Greg McElroy, who led the Crimson Tide to a national championship, lauded the Bulldogs quarterback ahead of the colossal matchup.
"This guy is ridiculous," McElroy said of Taylor on ESPN's "Big Day." McElroy noted the massive leap Taylor has taken in the pocket during his sophomore season. After tallying 629 passing yards last season, he's already reached 1,192 through four games. Taylor has thrown 14 touchdowns to two interceptions while averaging an impressive 9.9 yards per pass attempt.
McElroy suggested that Taylor's progress caught Mississippi State's early opponents off guard. "The defenses that were studying him early in the year were trying to figure out, 'How do we slow this guy down as a runner?' They weren't thinking there was gonna be this massive, overnight development as a passer, more specifically on the downfield throws," McElroy said. McElroy then likened Taylor to a former Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall draft pick.
He even believes Taylor is better in some ways. "The ball jumps out of his hand. You compare him to Cam Newton.
I think he's twitchier than Cam Newton," McElroy said. "I think he's got better top-end speed than Cam Newton. I don't think he runs with quite the same power as Cam, but I think he's actually got maybe a slightly more natural release than Cam as well.
So I understand the comparisons, but I think from a tools standpoint, you can make a case that he might be superior to Cam Newton than when he came out of Auburn 15, 16 years ago." Mississippi State and Alabama will kick off Saturday at noon ET on ABC.
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