Report: Will Rogers, Woody Marks out for Mississippi State against Kentucky

Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers and running back Jo’quavious ‘Woody’ Marks will miss Saturday’s game against Kentucky with injuries, per multiple reports. Mike Wright will start in Rogers’ place.

Rogers will miss his third-straight game, while Marks is out for the second consecutive week. Before Rogers’ injury, he made 38 consecutive starts for the Bulldogs.

The opening kickoff between the Bulldogs and Wildcats is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET live on the SEC Network.

More on Mike Wright

Before Wright, a Vanderbilt transfer, made the first of his Mississippi State career against Arkansas two weeks ago , Bulldogs head coach Zach Arnett revealed the confidence he has in his veteran QB.

No matter what position you play, whether you are the starter or not, you must prepare as you are the starter,” Arnett said. “… So, I have full faith and confidence. Mike has taken advantage of every opportunity he’s had this season. He’s scored several touchdowns.

“He’s distributed the ball for several touchdowns when he’s been in. He saw increased action last week. If he has to play additional snaps, we have no reason to believe he won’t perform the exact same.”

While his numbers against Arkansas wasn’t anything to write home about, he led MSU to a 7-3 victory before moving on to a tougher test at Auburn during Week 9. He went on complete 16-of-32 passes for 161 yards while throing one touchdown and an interception. He also contributed 63 yards on the ground.

Mike Wright came to Mississippi State as a transfer from Vanderbilt. Initially, he was a three-star recruit in the 2020 cycle and the 39th-ranked quarterback overall, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.

During his time with Vanderbilt, Wright played in 26 games. He’s already appeared in six games this season for Mississippi State. He has a 55.8 completion percentage on 344 career passing attempts with 2,128 yards and 22 touchdowns. On top of that, Wright has 1,043 rushing yards and 10 career scores on the ground.

Wright has some experience facing Kentucky as well, stunning the No. 24 Wildcats 24-21 last season with the Commodores. Wright ran for 59 yards during the contest and tossed an eight-yard touchdown pass during the final minute of regulation to snap Vandy’s 26-game SEC losing streak. He’ll need to create some more magic on Saturday with his team down in numbers.