As the Mississippi State football team enters a new era, it looks like the Bulldogs quarterback, Will Rogers, is looking forward to the challenge of a new offense.
Following the tragic passing of former Mississippi State football head coach Mike Leach, new head coach Zach Arnett made the decision to move away from the Air Raid. Now, as Mississippi State football enters a new era, it looks like star quarterback Will Rogers is looking forward to what the new offense could bring to Starkville.
During SEC Media Days, Rogers was asked about the offense’s transition to a more balanced pro-style system.
Of course, Rogers set all sorts of records thanks to Leach’s Air Raid. But, the senior sounds a little eager to expand his knowledge and experience a bit by incorporating some new looks with new offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay.
“I think the biggest difference in this offense is just going to be a more balanced attack maybe. 11, 12 personnel, more designed runs and more runs in the run game schematically, RPOs. I mean, just a normal pro style offense for us,” Rogers explained, according to ASAP Sports.
And though there are some changes schematically, it doesn’t look like that’s scaring Rogers one bit.
Will Rogers is looking forward to Mississippi State football expanding its offense
“I think we really look forward to accepting that challenge and maybe expanding our offense a little bit,” Rogers added.
Mississippi State hasn’t exactly run the ball much in recent seasons and it seems like Arnett and Barbay are looking to change that a bit. Adding some balance to the offense should set up Rogers with the chance to take advantage of defenses that now have to account for some different looks.
Given how precise he’s been and how much experience Rogers has, that could be interesting to see.
Rogers has scribbled his name all over the Mississippi State football record books and his pinpoint passing has allowed him to rack up 1,159 completions, 10,689 passing yards, and 82 touchdown passes.
And while it seems like Rogers may have wanted to go pursue playing for a team where the Air Raid was still installed, it doesn’t seem like that was really in the realm of possibility.
“In terms of you were asking if I was going to transfer? No, there wasn’t very much talk about that at all. I kind of stayed faithful to my commitment at Mississippi State ever since I was a junior in high school. Obviously going into my senior year, kind of want to finish it out with some of the guys I came in with,” Rogers commented.
The offense may look a bit different this year, but Rogers has remained loyal to the Bulldogs and the future of Mississippi State football. It’ll be fascinating to see how this season plays out as he operates a new offense.