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Nick Saban Urges College Football Coaches to Make Transfer Portal Move with SEC QB

The former Alabama coach turned broadcaster turned promoter of the Protect College Sports Act had an interesting viewpoint on an SEC quarterback.
Joe Cox|
Legendary coach turned broadcaster Nick Saban had an interesting take on an SEC quarterback. (Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News)
Legendary coach turned broadcaster Nick Saban had an interesting take on an SEC quarterback. (Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News) | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

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Mississippi State Bulldogs

Nick Saban is famously a man of many talents-- coach, broadcaster, and sometimes rumored to be contemplating politician. Saban has recently been very active in promoting the Protect College Sports Act as a means against the struggles in continuity and enforcement across college football. Saban retired from his own head coaching career in part because of the culture shift underway across the sport. But his Saturday comments about one SEC superstar suggests that just as Saban decries the culture of the moment, he would not hesitate to take advantage of it.

Saban talks about an SEC QB

The topic at hand on College GameDay was star Mississippi State QB Kamario Taylor. After coming to MSU as a relatively lightly regarded recruit, Taylor has had a massive 2026 season to date and has emerged as a potential NFL prospect and a possible Heisman Trophy candidate. Entering Saturday's action, Taylor had already passed for 11 touchdowns in his first three games of the season. When Taylor's name came up on CGD, Saban left no question about where he stood on the talented second-year passer.

"If I was coaching right now, I'd be trying to get Kamario Taylor to get in the portal," said Saban.

Tampering issues?

Of course, tampering with a potential portal prospect is a very heated and controversial area of NCAA enforcement. Most notably, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney went public with allegiations about what he felt was tampering from Ole Miss on Rebels LB Luke Ferrelli. Ferrelli had signed with the Tigers and enrolled in classes when instead he jetted off to join the Rebels.

Taylor's Future Questions

There has already been a significant amount of talk about Taylor as a portal target. Jeff Lebby's Rebels are not one of the biggest spenders in the NCAA's NIL battles and given the kind of season that Taylor has been putting together, he could easily be the subject of a Darian Mensah or Sam Leavitt-style bidding war as a portal player for the 2027 season.

Taylor has done his part to put those rumors to bed and Mississippi State is committed to doing its best to keep him, but it's certainly telling that even the former coach who is spending much of his time and energy seeking to clean up college sports was suggesting that he would be dancing at least near the NCAA's enforcement lines in trying to add Taylor to his hypothetical roster.

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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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