Jeff Lebby explains why Mississippi State QB Kamario Taylor's 70-yard TD went viral

STARKVILLE — Scroll through social media and you'll probably still see videos of Mississippi State football quarterback Kamario Taylor's big game against Louisiana-Monroe. The Heisman pose he struck after scoring his third of five touchdowns in the 62-13 win on Sept. 5 is one of them. However, his fifth touchdown, a 70-yard pass to Marquis Johnson, is the highlight that's gone viral among college football and NFL draft analysts. The play came in Taylor's third career start and has only added to his hype as the Bulldogs (1-0) prepare to play at Minnesota (1-0) on Sept. 12 (2:30 p.m., CBS). Mississippi State football vs ULM, see top photos of Bulldogs, Kamario Taylor in Week 1 Taylor took a shotgun snap, looked to his left, stepped forward and then perfectly placed the deep pass through contact to Johnson down the left sideline. It was his last pass of the game — he finished with 354 yards and four passing touchdowns while rushing for 59 yards and another touchdown — and the TV announcer called him "Super Kamario Taylor." "There's very few that can do it," coach Jeff Lebby said Sept. 7 about Taylor's throw. "He does. He steps up, didn't have to move quite as much as he moved, but he did a great job staying in profile and knew he was going to be able to get it out of his hand before he got hit or as he was getting hit. "Those are the things that you love to see. Him playing the position from the pocket, being able to manipulate the pocket, keeping his eyes on his progression and giving us a chance to create chunk plays." MORE: Why Mississippi State QB Kamario Taylor's Heisman Trophy pose was planned on 5-TD night Kamario Taylor TD vs ULM goes viral The video of Taylor's touchdown pass on Mississippi State's X account has 718,000 views as of Sept. 7, almost 10 times as many than MSU's other touchdowns from the game. One post from Todd McShay, an NFL draft analyst for the Ringer, has 2.3 million views on X. "Watching Kamario Taylor throw at Manning Passing Academy was an event," McShay wrote in his post. "He's just different! This throw is stupid." "Kamario Taylor. Effortless 50+ yard toss. Dude," ESPN's Max Olson wrote in an X post with over 450,000 views. What Jeff Lebby critiqued about Kamario Taylor's touchdown Even though Taylor had a huge game against ULM, he said afterward he still had some things that needed to be corrected. He didn't commit any turnovers, but a few of his throws were close to being intercepted. Lebby said there was even a small detail in his 70-yard touchdown that could've made the throw easier. "When he climbed in the pocket on that snap, he could have just shut down his movement a half of a yard before being able to be all the way into the rush," Lebby said. "We're talking about literally a half a yard. Maybe he gets through his throw a little bit more. That snap, it didn't matter because of the ball placement and the ball he threw. We're always trying to strain for those six inches and those two yards. Whatever it is, that can change the play and change the outcome." Minnesota coach PJ Fleck gives Kamario Taylor compliment PJ Fleck has been Minnesota's coach for 10 seasons but said at his Sept. 7 news conference that Taylor is one of the best quarterbacks he's come across. "He'll be one of the best quarterbacks we've ever played," Fleck said. "That's for sure since I've been here." Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_. This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jeff Lebby explains why Mississippi State QB Kamario Taylor's 70-yard TD went viral