Spring snapshot – QBs: Rogers trying to maintain starting status for State

Head coach Mike Leach has insisted the quarterbacking job is open

In a perfect world, Will Rogers might still be a relative unknown to Mississippi State fans. The MSU quarterback would've backed up graduate transfer K.J. Costello in 2020, gotten his feet wet and then headed into this now-ongoing spring looking to compete for the top spot on the depth chart.

Of course this isn't a perfect world and by midseason in 2020, struggles and an injury to Costello made Rogers State's primary quarterback. So instead of trying to win the job this offseason, he's now trying to maintain it. And head coach Mike Leach makes no bones about it – Rogers is going to have to earn it.

"He’s got to win his job too – that’s what spring’s all about," Leach said. "All the jobs are open. They fight it out. We’ve got some good quarterbacks on campus and they’re teeing it up right now."

Make no mistake about it, Rogers has to be considered the favorite to be behind center when Mississippi State hosts Louisiana Tech in the season opener on September 4. Not that his 2020 was perfect, but by the time last season was complete, Rogers was showing signs his best days are all in front of him.

Just take a look at Rogers' late-season success. Last November, Rogers led all NCAA quarterbacks in completions for the month. He was the only NCAA quarterback with at least 1,000 yards passing and no interceptions in November. He was one of just two quarterbacks in the entire FBS that didn't throw a pick in that time period.

Overall in 2020, Rogers set a new MSU freshman record for passing yards (1,976). He set a new State single-season completion percentage mark (69.1). He's the first MSU quarterback to ever complete 30 or more passes in four straight games. Not bad at all for a guy originally pegged to be a backup.

Even so, Rogers is getting pushed this spring. Of the quarterbacks currently on campus, three stand as the primary challengers to Rogers – Jack Abraham, Chance Lovertich and Daniel Greek.

Greek, a true freshman that just arrived on campus this semester, is probably the longest shot of the group. But it does bear noting he caught Leach's attention with a scrimmage performance this past Saturday that saw him complete seven of nine passes for 46 yards and a touchdown.

"“I thought he looked really good," Leach said of Greek. "I would say that was kind of one of the more impressive freshman debut performances I’ve seen. I thought he played really well.

“He played smart. A lot of times those guys will try to make too much happen and all of a sudden just because they’re anxious, what’s in their head goes out the window. But I didn’t think he did. I thought he played within himself and just very methodical, meticulous, going down the field. He actually had a couple of checks, too, which I thought were good.”

While Greek has left a strong first impression, those in front of him begin their own quests to try and unseat Rogers with at least a bit of a track record. First, there's Lovertich. He completed 47 of his 86 passes for 619 yards and five touchdowns last year at South Alabama. This came after a standout career at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Lovertich flashed his potential in last weekend's scrimmage with an incredibly accurate 14-of-19 performance for 112 yards.

Then there's Abraham. The former Southern Miss starting quarterback led the nation in completion percentage in 2018. In 2019, Abraham became just the third USM signal caller ever to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season. He didn't have the strongest of scrimmage showings last Saturday – completing only four of nine passes for 42 yards with a touchdown – but he was also hindered by a couple of drops by receivers. And one practice session can't diminish the fact Abraham is boosted by having q pretty impressive track record already.

"Jack, you can tell he’s got some polish and experience out there," Leach said. "When he’s throwing well, I like the way the ball comes off his hand.”

Realistically, Abraham, Lovertich and Greek are all likely underdogs this spring. They'll have to overcome a guy that already started to establish himself last fall. Now that's not to say that Rogers has a stranglehold on the starting role. In fact, Leach is quick to point out Rogers has much he can improve upon this spring.

“The biggest thing I want him to do is a great job commanding the unit and elevating and moving the offense," Leach said. "I think he does a great job of that.

“The other thing is I’d like to further polish and more efficiently run the plays that he’s already relatively good at. Any plays he’s not so quick at reacting to, I’d like to speed that up. But overall I guess I’d like to see the ball come off his hand a little quicker as far as when he sorts what he sees and puts it on them.”

No matter who emerges as MSU's QB-1 after the spring, here's the kicker – they'll have to win the job again come this fall. And this fall, there'll be one more contender in the mix. Top recruit Sawyer Robertson will join the MSU quarterbacking group in the coming months and will seek to do (or top) what Rogers did last year – make a big-time impression in year one.

There seems to be only one certainty when it comes to Leach and Mississippi State's quarterbacks in the weeks ahead. No signal caller can afford to take a day off. Because the competition is fierce, the options are many and someone is always pushing.

"We’re gonna look at all of them and try to see who separates themselves," Leach said. "When we get to (fall) camp, we’ll do the same thing again. You want to give everybody as many resources as you can to compete, but regardless who we feel is ahead in the spring, we’re gonna do it again the first week of camp. Same process."

Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers is trying to maintain starting status this spring. (Photo courtesy of Mississippi State athletics)

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