Could Will Rogers Be One of the Best QBs in the SEC, the Nation in 2022?

Rogers took a big step in 2021 and could take an even bigger one in 2022.

Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers put the nation on notice after breaking multiple program and SEC records in 2021. Heading into his junior year, he could garner even more attention as the Bulldogs face arguably the toughest schedule in the nation.

Some early 2023 NFL mock drafts have Rogers going as early as the first round, which begs the question, could Rogers be one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC and perhaps the nation in the upcoming season?

It's certainly not out of the picture with the trajectory he's been on. After struggling some with ball placement and getting throws off quickly, Rogers showed significant improvement in both of those areas in the back half of the season and expounded upon it in the spring.

The game continues to slow down for Rogers and it sounds like Bulldogs Head Coach Mike Leach is more confident in the signal-caller at the line of scrimmage and more.

"I think he's more consistent. I think he can kind of aggressively check more of the package on his own," Leach said. "The other thing is – he's been good at this but even better now perhaps – he brings energy to the offensive unit."

Rogers finished out the 2021 as one of the strongest quarterbacks in the country, statistically speaking, completing 73.9% of his passes for 4,739 yards with 36 touchdowns and nine interceptions. That gave him the third-highest passing yards total in the nation and the second-highest completion percentage during a season in which he managed to crack into the late Heisman Trophy conversation.

He broke a number of program records, including Dak Prescott's yards of total offense in a single season (previously set at 4,435 yards) and his single season touchdown record (previously set at 29 touchdowns). 

The Bulldogs quarterback also surpassed the conference single-game completion percentage record (minimum of 30 attempts) when he completed 92.3% of his passes in the 31-17 upset over No. 12-ranked Kentucky in November. 

One of his most impressive games outside of the performance against Kentucky was when he led the largest comeback in school history, completing 44-of-55 passes for 415 yards with six touchdowns in the 43-34 win over Auburn after the Bulldogs faced a 28-3 deficit.

As MSU enters the 2022 season with a decently more experienced team than it has had in the first two years of the Leach era, it's easy to get the sense Rogers and the Bulldogs have the chance to do something special.

Looking at the rest of the SEC's quarterbacks, Bryce Young of Alabama and Will Levis of Kentucky have been frequently ranked above Rogers. With the roster Alabama has in 2022 and the way Young showed he could deliver in clutch situations even when the Crimson Tide were shaky at points last season, it's hard to see him coming off that No. 1 spot. In addition to being the unanimous preseason QB1 in the SEC, he's also expected to be one of the first three picks in next year's draft.

But a potential shakeup in the conference quarterback rankings could play out over the season -- Levis is building hype as a potential first-rounder because of the physical attributes and athleticism he brings to the table on top of the improvement he showed as a passer in a new offense, but he needs to take another step in the latter category. How well he does that will have a large impact on how many still view him as the SEC's second-best quarterback by season's end.

The predictive rankings become a toss-up from there, with some betting on the upside of quarterbacks like Arkansas' KJ Jefferson, Tennessee's Hendon Hooker and South Carolina transfer Spencer Rattler, while others are putting Rogers ahead of all three of them. 

From a pure analysis perspective, there's no reason to believe Rogers can't become the No. 2 quarterback in the SEC and he could even make his way into the early to mid-round conversation as one of the most accurate quarterbacks in college football as long as he continues to steadily improve the way he has since he originally took over for KJ Costello in 2020.