Will Rogers says Mississippi State 'wants the eyes' on the program

Mississippi State had shown gradual and continuous improvement under former coach Mike Leach, to the point of winning nine games in his final season in charge of the program in 2022.

But though Leach is gone after dying on Dec. 12, the Bulldogs are hoping to carry forward the momentum on the field.

“It’s kind of a lot of us’ last ride. We’ve been playing together for four years,” quarterback Will Rogers said. “We’ve played a lot of ball together. We’ve won some games for this university. So I think if you ask that group of seniors and a lot those guys, I think that they would want to say that we want the eyes on us this year. We want to play in big games. We want the pressure on us, and we want it to be hard.”

Will Rogers will be the linchpin in a Mississippi State offense going through some considerable change.

He threw for 3,974 yards and 35 touchdowns against just eight interceptions last season, helping the Bulldogs torch opponents through the air. He might not be asked to do that quite as much this fall.

What he will be asked to do is captain the Bulldogs and help build on the momentum in the fanbase. That momentum was on display in the spring game, with 21,500 fans turning out to support the new-look Mississippi State squad.

“I think that goes to show that we’ve done a lot of good things over the last couple years and we’re a tight group that’s played a lot of ball together,” Rogers said of the support.

Mississippi State offense changing

With the hire of Kevin Barbay as the team’s new offensive coordinator, Mississippi State appears to be going to a more pro-style spread offense this fall.

Barbay hails from the Jim McElwain coaching tree.

One thing that means, in particular, is an uptick in usage of the tight ends to help get the running game going.

Will Rogers pointed out things will be pretty different this fall.

“In the past three years with coach Leach, the pressure was kind of on the defensive line because they had to rush the passer every play,” Rogers said. “And those big guys don’t like to run every single play. Well it’s kind of reversed now, now it’s kind of on the offensive line to really get off the ball, move guys whether it be stretch, inside zone, outside zone, duo, counter.

“We have so many run concepts now. But whatever it may be, I think it’s on the offensive line now to kind of really move guys. And then obviously you add one and two tight ends in there, you get an extra hat in the box and you’re that much closer to popping a big run.”

Mississippi State will be tested early, too. After a season opener against Southeastern Louisiana, the Bulldogs will host Arizona and LSU in successive weeks to open the year.