QB Will Rogers, who used to play for Mississippi State, will move to Washington.
Former Mississippi State quarterback William Rogers, who has thrown for more yards than anyone else in SEC history, told ESPN on Friday that he’s set on moving to Washington.
Rogers promised the staff that he would help them while he was on an official visit for the school this weekend.
He is still qualified for one more year and will be eligible right away. Rogers threw over 12,315 yards in Starkville over the course of four years.
Next season, Rogers is likely to take over for Michael Penix, who was a candidate for the Heisman Trophy.
Penix led the Huskies to an undefeated season, the Pac-12 title, as well as a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Rogers liked the method run by coach Kalen DeBoer as well as the offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb because in 2023, Washington had the most passing yards in the country (343.8% per game). He also liked the group of skilled players, tight ends, and offensive linemen.
“Obviously, how Coach Grubb works his offense, ranks as one of the tops within the country in how they score points as well as how quarterback-friendly the structure is,” Rogers stated.
“The whole country became aware of them in 2022, when people began to notice them.” This year, things weren’t going as planned for me, and I went through the gate.
Rogers hails from Mississippi as well as went to school less than an hour’s drive from his place of residence on the edge of Jackson. It will be about 2,500 miles away. I was hoping they would get in touch.”
“It was wonderful to have friends and family over to watch every one of games,” he stated. “But you need to think regarding what’s ideal for your job every so often.” This is what my family and I should do. We believe that is the best thing to do.
During his time at Mississippi State, Rogers threw for a lot of yards. With 1,301 completions, he is the only quarterback in the SEC to have thrown for more than 1,000 yards and more than 1,000 touchdowns. That included 505 finishing in 2021, when Mike Leach was the coach.
Rogers has played 38 games as well as is the 39th best passer in NCAA history. It will put him in the top 5 all-time quarterbacks if he throws for more than 4,000 yards again this season. He has already done that twice before.
The numbers for Rogers went down in 2023. Soon after Leach’s death in late 2022, the team got a new coach and a new offensive strategy.
Rogers only played eight games in 2023 because of an injury, and he only made 142 passes that year.
Rogers said that he got to Seattle through two connections. Tyson Brown, the strength coach at MSU, played for Grubb and DeBoer in college that Sioux Falls, so he knew those two people.
Rogers also saw what former friend Dillon Johnson went through when he moved from Starkville to Seattle. This season, Johnson ran for 1,113 yards and 14 scores.
“His going there as well as having some success had been eye-opening to a lot of people,” he said.
“A lot of people within the locker room had their eyes opened.” Man, it’s college football at the moment.
You should pay attention when someone you played with in the SEC goes and does well after leaving.
To get a proven quarterback through the transfer process instead of a highly regarded high school quarterback is becoming more and more common in the new age of college football.
Washington added Sam Huard, who was the third-best quarterback among the 2021 recruiting class, but they chose to go with Penix last season instead.
At the time, the Indiana prospect was rated as the 23rd best QB available. Penix was just in the running for the Heisman Trophy, so the move paid away big time. Rogers has been a quarterback in college football longer than almost any other player.
He doesn’t have as many years left to play as some of the big names at the top, like Dante Moore or Aidan Chiles, but he’s shown that he can fight and score points against the best SEC defenses.
It’s a big win for the Big Ten that they will have a reliable quarterback next year. This spring, big names like Jalen McMillan as well as Rome Odunze are likely to be taken in the NFL Draft. However, Washington can count on having a pro at quarterback to keep the offense stable.