Rogers Leads State's Signal Callers
August 23, 2023 | Football
STARKVILLE – One of the most comforting positions to be in as a fan entering a season is to have "your" starting quarterback returning.
The Mississippi State faithful have been able to rest easy for the past three offseasons knowing that Will Rogers, the Bulldogs' starting signal caller for the past 32 games, will once again be the one leading the offense out onto the field in the fall.
Rogers already owns nearly every passing accolade in the MSU record book and is the only player in SEC history to complete over 1,000 passes. The rising senior from Brandon has already thrown for 10,689 yards and 82 touchdowns during his illustrious career.
However, Rogers has not been resting on his past laurels since last season ended. Instead, he has fully immersed himself into learning every aspect of new coordinator Kevin Barbay's offense.
"It was showing up in the winter and learning at least one thing a day," Rogers said. "I was trying to learn all about (Barbay's) formations or the quick game or the drop back. Then you bring in the shifts and motions with it. It was kind of just a process. I had to learn a little at the time. But by the time we hit spring ball and really by the time we were into spring ball, I knew it like the back of my hand."
Rogers and Barbay have made quite a connection over the course of their time together and are already on the same page when it comes to the playbook.
"I think Will and I have really gained a lot of mutual respect," Barbay said. "We see a lot of things the same way. When something is starting to roll off my tongue, he'll already have it called because he knows exactly what I'm thinking. I think that's something that's real important throughout the season as we become more comfortable with each other. He knows what I'm thinking. He's in the mind of the play caller and understands the play caller's purpose."
This year, however, Rogers isn't the only quarterback with SEC wins on his resume. Former Vanderbilt starter Mike Wright transferred in back in January and has also been learning the offense at the same pace that Rogers has.
Wright made 11 starts for the Commodores over the past two years and appeared in 26 games total during his three seasons there.
"Experience is incredibly valuable," said head coach Zach Arnett. "Anytime you've started games at this level, you know the types of defenses you're going to face week in and week out. He's won games as a starter and that's a huge asset to our program. Having both him and Will allows us to do some things package-wise offensively. But no matter who is in there, you've got confidence that you've got a guy leading the offense that knows what it takes to win."
Wright, Vandy's captain last season, gives the Bulldogs a solid running threat to go along with his improved passing ability. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound senior led the SEC and ranked fourth nationally averaging 7.3 yards per carry last season. He ran for 517 yards and five TDs in 2022 to go along with 974 yards and a dozen more scores through the air.
"Mike Wright has done a nice job of having more accuracy and taking easy completions," Barbay said. "Obviously, his skillset is a lot different because he is a real dual-threat to score touchdowns with his legs."
The only other scholarship quarterback the Bulldogs have waiting in the wings is true freshman Chris Parson. The former four-star prospect graduated high school early and enrolled at State in January but was limited in spring training due to a knee injury.
Now fully healthy, Parson is progressing nicely during the beginning stages of his career.
"He's coming along well," Barbay said. "He's a very talented kid that's got a really strong arm. He tries to learn and invests a lot of time in learning from Will and Mike and how they do things. Now, he just needs to get enough reps in teams to where the game slows down a little bit for him. That's not uncommon for a young quarterback, especially in the SEC."
So far, Parson has taken full advantage of his time under the learning tree of SEC veterans like Rogers and Wright.
"We keep preaching to Chris that he's got a heck of an opportunity to learn under two guys that have started and won games in this league," Arnett said. "He can pick their brain, ask them advice and obviously go out there and challenge them."
Besides Rogers, the lone quarterback the Bulldogs bring back from the Air Raid offense is redshirt sophomore Jake Weir. The walk-on from Tupelo enters his third season at Mississippi State.
Other newcomers joining the mix in January along with Parson were in-state walk-ons Asher Morgan and Vic Sutton. Morgan arrives in Starkville after redshirting as a freshman at Samford in 2021 and appearing in four games at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College last season.
Sutton, a former Louisiana Tech commitment and Madison Central standout, also turned down an opportunity at Miami to stay home and play for the Bulldogs.
But no matter which quarterback is behind or under center for MSU this season, the same core principals will apply and have been ingrained in them since Barbay's arrival earlier this year.
"For all of our guys, we talk about understanding situational football," Barbay said. "What is important in the red area? What's important on third down? How do I play out the final two minutes of a half or end of game? We spend a lot of time breaking down all of those specific details. It's important that we cover all of that during the summer and in fall camp before those intense moments come on Saturdays in the SEC."
