Greg McElroy gives impressive stat on Will Rogers from 2021

Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers has a chance to be one of the best quarterbacks that Mike Leach has ever coached and that’s saying something, considering the number of gifted signal-callers that have been procured in his famous “Air Raid” offensive attack over the years. He posted some mind-boggling stats last year as a sophomore for the Bulldogs, throwing for 4,739 passing yards (third most in SEC single-season history) in his second year as the starting quarterback in Starkville. Heading into his junior season, ESPN’s Greg McElroy recently broke down the uber-talented signal-caller on his podcast, “Always College Football” and he mentioned another really impressive stat on Rogers from the 2021 season.

“And if you look, too, at his adjusted completion percentage. I referenced the fact that he completed nearly at least 74 percent of his passes. But when you take out the drops. You take out the balls batted at the line of scrimmage. That adjusted completion percentage was just above 81 percent. That’s the third highest in the SEC since 2014. The other two that were above that–Mac Jones in 2020. He was just over 84 percent and Joe Burrow, who was just under 82 percent in 2019. Obviously, both those two guys both Heisman finalists. Those two guys ran a little bit different offensive style. But either way, adjusted completion percentage over 81 percent. You’re doing what you’ve gotta do, Will Rogers. I think you have a chance to take the next step here in 2022,” McElroy said.

Rogers paid the price last season against quality opponents last year, because of Mississippi State’s inability to protect him in the pocket. Despite these struggles, he still posted impressive numbers, even for Mike Leach’s Air Raid attack. On top of the gaudy passing stats he compiled, Rogers was deadly accurate, completing nearly 74 percent of his passes. And that number includes the large number of dropped passes the Bulldogs had last year. He also finished the year with a 147 passer rating and averaged nearly seven yards per attempt.

Rogers might benefit from being in Leach’s Air Raid attack, but he has proven to be a very talented quarterback. And if the Bulldogs can do a better job of protecting him this year, Mississippi State could be in contention for a New Year’s Six bowl game at the very least.

On3’s Justin Rudolph also contributed to this article.