It's been a chaotic few weeks for Mississippi State football. There's been a long list of players exiting the program, and the pursuit of talent to fill those holes in the roster has come with mixed results.
The quarterback room in particular has gone through some overhauling, resulting in a roller coaster of emotions for Bulldog fans. Impressive freshman Michael Van Buren chose to enter the portal, having since ended up at LSU. However there was little disappointment in his departure when it seemed that Oklahoma transfer and former Jeff Lebby QB Jackson Arnold was almost certain to take his place.
Arnold, however, chose Auburn without even giving his old coach a visit. State had lost its own promising young QB to the portal and missed out on another high-ceiling passer, and while veteran Blake Shapen was set to return, the lack of a big name player in the room left many dejected about the direction of things.
But on Tuesday, MSU landed a high-level talent to round out its QB room. Florida State transfer Luke Kromenhoek, one of the highest-rated transfer QBs available, committed to the Bulldogs. And while he's unlikely to make the same impact that either Van Buren or Arnold would in 2025, he fills a need for State and adds more talent to the room.
And now, despite some ups-and-downs, Jeff Lebby has put together a strong group of passers in Starkville.
Jeff Lebby has built an impressive quarterback room for Mississippi State football
Mississippi State isn't going to get much national attention for their QB room. Losing Michael Van Buren, who garnered national attention as a true freshman, and missing out on Jackson Arnold, who is one of the biggest names amongst CFB QBs right now, is instead going to turn eyes away from the Bulldogs.
But that's not what ultimately matters. What matters is that Jeff Lebby puts together as talented a QB room as he realistically can, and that's what he's done. Blake Shapen is still a good college QB that the Bulldogs can be successful with assuming they finally get him better protection up front. Luke Kromenhoek was a high 4-star in the class of 2024 and is rated as a 94-overall transfer. Technically, he rates higher as a transfer prospect than both Van Buren and Arnold despite those two being more celebrated nationally.
And then there's incoming freshman KaMario Taylor, the highest rated QB signee in MSU history and a borderline 5-star. He's a true elite player who, while unlikely to contribute in his first year, may very well be a program-changer in Starkville. Between those three players, there's a case to be made this is top-to-bottom the strongest QB room Mississippi State has ever had. It's easily the most talented on paper.
Jeff Lebby is known as a guy that QBs want to play for. His system and development at the position is attractive to recruits. We're seeing that pay off right now at Mississippi State. And while there are plenty of areas in which his program has to show major improvement, fans should be confident that the Bulldogs will always have a capable signal-caller as long as Lebby is the coach.