Rogers Leading From The Front

STARKVILLE – Will Rogers can still the remember the advice his father, Wyatt, offered him while still a freshman at Brandon High School.

Rogers was in the weight room working out with the varsity football team in preparation for his sophomore season when his dad – also Brandon's offensive coordinator – approached him and told him that he'd better be the hardest worker in the room and to not take anything for granted.

Those words of wisdom and motivation stuck with the young quarterback and have been something he has strived to do each day since. Rogers has carried that same hardworking mentality and leadership with him to Mississippi State.

"My dad has always told me that the quarterback has to be the first one to show up and the last one to leave," Rogers said. "One of the best things he's told me from a leadership standpoint is that the quarterback has to be the opposite. When everything is going crazy around you and there's 100,000 fans, you just have to be cool, calm and collected.

"On the flip side of that, when everybody is being lazy, not flying around or maybe they don't feel like being out there at practice, my dad said that it was my time to speak up to get the guys to practice and play. Dad does a great job and knows how to get the best out of players, especially quarterbacks."

Rogers' father isn't the only source of inspiration from early in his career. Rogers also emulated former Brandon standout Gardner Minshew, who is five years his senior and coincidentally played for Mike Leach at Washington State to close out his college career.

Rogers recalls meeting the future NFL signal caller for the first time when Minshew was a freshman at Brandon and observed how the entire team gravitated towards him.

"I can remember being around the practice field with Gardner Minshew and seeing how he led and did things," Rogers said. "I was fortunate to have a great quarterback ahead of me and was able to see a blueprint of how to do things and get a team to play behind you."

After throwing for more than 9,000 yards and 79 touchdowns during his prep career and guiding Brandon to three straight playoff appearances, Rogers was ready to take his talent and leadership attributes to MSU.

In 2020, Rogers became the first true freshman quarterback to start for Leach's in his 20-year coaching career. He started the final six games for the Bulldogs that season and set nearly every freshman passing record at State in the process.

"Will stepped in and had great leadership qualities, wasn't afraid to talk to the locker room as a freshman, which I think is one of the more impressive, courageous things that he did," Leach said. "It allowed him to excel early. It allowed him to focus in on playing because he didn't have some of that stage fright that initial freshmen do. I think it allowed him to progress quicker. Also, I think it allowed the team to draw from him and kind of unify things. I think that was very impressive."

Rogers' leadership has continued to grow from there. He is usually one of the first players on the practice fields and among the last to leave. He sprints from drill to drill during practice and is constantly shouting words of encouragement to his teammates throughout.

"It's important because when everybody sees that the quarterback is on his stuff, everybody else wants to follow right behind him," said center LaQuinston Sharp. "He's very vocal and everybody wants to be just like him. The young guys want to mold themselves to be just like Will because he does great things. He's the one that comes first and is the last to leave."

The leadership that Rogers provides extends far beyond the season as well. He puts in an incredible amount of time and effort in the weight room and conditioning exercises. He even organized voluntary practices over the summer months so he and his receivers could work on their routes and timing.

"In the offseason, he's done a great job," said wide receiver Austin Williams. "He's a very vocal guy for conditioning and during workouts. He's always talking to guys and getting them motivated. No matter how early it is or how hard it might be, he's always a guy that's positive and trying to lead. He's always uplifting guys and trying to get them out here to do extra work. He just sets the tone and the example for everyone else to follow."

Mississippi State University Athletics

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