Mississippi State football: Will Rogers discusses new passing attack

With the Air Raid era of Mississippi State football over, Will Rogers and the Bulldogs will be utilizing a new offense. How will Rogers perform as the quarterback of this new system?

Following Mike Leach’s passing, a number of changes were made on the offensive side of things for the Mississippi State football team. The offensive philosophy may be shifting up a bit under new offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay, but the Bulldogs still boast one of the most productive passers in SEC history in Will Rogers.

And that could make the transition to a new offense go pretty smoothly.

At SEC Media Days, Rogers was asked about what Mississippi State football fans will be able to expect from the Bulldogs’ passing game in Barbay’s offense.

“Just a little more play action, more designed shots down the field. Coach Barbay did a really good job of scheming that up. It’s something we’re really looking forward to this year,” Rogers stated, according to ASAP Sports.

Mississippi State football: Will Rogers comments on Bulldogs moving forward with new offense

It seems highly unlikely that the Bulldogs will match the sheer volume of passes that were thrown under Leach. Still, with the way that Barbay operates and when considering Rogers’ experience at this level, it seems likely that attacking defenses through the air will be important for how MSU moves forward this season.

Rogers is heading into 2023 as the most productive passer in Mississippi State history and he’s clearly among the best quarterbacks the school has ever had.

But it’ll be interesting to see how he performs in a new offense.

Rogers was effective in the Air Raid and he knew how to navigate the reads required there. Some onlookers have questioned whether or not Rogers has the ability to really be able to thrive outside of Leach’s system.

But it’s worth noting that if Rogers was able to pick apart defenses as his foes knew pretty much exactly what was coming. The timing of his routes are different now, but Mississippi State’s star quarterback very rarely made mistakes against SEC secondaries.

More play action could help him out. Barbay should be able to scheme around Rogers’ skillset. And that should be fun to watch.