Quarterback injuries are absolutely ripping through the 2026 season, shaking up both the Heisman Trophy race and the battle for playoff positioning. Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor and Oregon’s Dante Moore are the latest signal-callers officially done for the year, joining UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava and Pitt’s Mason Heintschel on the sidelines. Plus, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin might not even make it back this season. This is wild.
Kamario Taylor’s Season-Crushing Setback
Let’s talk Mississippi State first, because their story is a gut punch. This team looked like they were on a legit playoff run. Kamario Taylor was straight up lighting it up, even getting Heisman mentions, as the Bulldogs started their season an electric 4-0. But then, disaster struck. Taylor suffered a toe injury during a win against Missouri. What followed was a brutal collapse. He tried to play hurt against Alabama, but they lost. He missed the LSU game, another loss. He gave it a shot against Oklahoma, but couldn’t last, and you guessed it, another loss. The numbers tell the whole devastating story: with Taylor healthy, the Bulldogs were averaging a monstrous 43 points per game, snatching wins against South Carolina and Missouri. Since that injury? They’re limping along at just 12.7 points per game. That is a brutal hit, no two ways about it.
The official word is that Taylor has a right turf toe, Part 2, and it’s surgery time, which means he is out for the entire 2026 season. This wasn’t a sudden thing either. He scrambled right against Missouri, went down out of bounds, and limped off, favoring that right foot. Reports say that was the third time the toe had flared up since the Missouri game on September 26. This isn’t just a minor tweak; turf toe usually heals with rest, taping, and a stiff plate. Surgery becomes necessary when the plantar plate under the big toe joint is completely torn through, a Grade 3 injury, or the joint is unstable, or the sesamoids pull back, or just plain rest stops working. Dr. Ribu Thomas PT, DPT, confirms that time and rest weren’t cutting it for Taylor. The fix involves sewing that plate back so he can push off again. On average, football players miss about 16 weeks for this type of repair, and other larger athletes are looking at around 20 weeks. The good news? Roughly 9 out of 10 players get back to their previous level.
What’s Next For Taylor and the Heisman Race Fallout
There are two paths for Taylor’s recovery. Path A, the optimistic one: a clean repair, boot and protected walking first, then cutting and sprinting by late winter, with him being full-go for spring ball and summer camp in 2027. Path B, the one we don’t want: the toe gets stiff, big toe motion lags, push off stays weak, and there’s a long-run risk of arthritis in that joint, meaning he is slower to get back to his old self. Dr. Thomas leans towards Path A, citing Taylor’s youth, good repair data, and a full offseason ahead. But Path B is absolutely still on the table because stiffness is the most common issue after this kind of repair.
And Taylor isn’t the only one shaking things up. Oregon’s Dante Moore, another Heisman favorite early in the season, is also done for the year. The Ducks’ offense was solid, even in an early loss to Oklahoma State, but they have clearly struggled to move the ball since Moore went down in the first half of a recent game. With UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava and Pitt’s Mason Heintschel already out for the year, and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin’s return still up in the air, the college football landscape for 2026 has been drastically altered. It is a tough break for a lot of contenders.
So, what should Mississippi State fans, and the rest of us, be watching for? Dr. Thomas lays it out: what the specialist actually finds and repairs, then how Taylor looks in spring practice, especially with his running and push-off power, not just his throwing. The big question looming for Bulldogs fans is whether Kamario Taylor can truly get back to his early 2026 form in 2027. We sure hope so.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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