Rogers looks to be improving as MSU quarterback

Will Rogers continues to progress as the quarterback for the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

During his weekly press conference on Monday, MSU head coach Mike Leach said Rogers “took a step” in a positive direction during the game against North Carolina State.

There are some areas where Leach wants to see Rogers improve, but he has to remind himself at times that he is “still the youngest quarterback I’ve ever coached.” Leach had never started a true freshman quarterback during his coaching career before doing so with Rogers last season. He ended up breaking nearly every freshman passing record last year despite just starting six games for the Bulldogs.

Now as a sophomore, Rogers seems to be more mature and getting better.

Rogers leads the nation in completions per game at 36 and ranks fifth in the FBS in completion percentage at .750 after two games. The 39 pass completions against Louisiana Tech in the opener ranks fourth in school history.

After two games, Rogers already has 664 passing yards with five touchdowns. He has only thrown one interception.

The quarterback is always the focus of attention for any offense. It’s much more the case with the Air Raid attack of Leach.

Leach said he sees Rogers getting “tuned in” with his receivers which is a good sign, but thought there were too many “three-and-outs” on offense during the North Carolina State game.

There was also an occasion late in the game where Leach thought Rogers could have made a better decision.

“When we were trying to eat the clock, he threw it out of bounds,” Leach said. “He should have run up the field and not let them hit him, but he should have stayed in bounds rather than toss it away.”

No he’s not perfect, but the mistakes for Rogers appear to be getting less and less frequent.

Although there may be games this season where an opposing defense may still make him look bad, Rogers has handled things pretty well through two games.

Rogers is a good young quarterback and it’s going to be interesting to see how far he can take his talents through the remaining of his sophomore season, then as a junior and a senior at MSU.

Danny P. Smith is the sports editor of The Daily Time Leader. The opinions in this column are his and not necessarily the views of the DTL or its staff.