Reports: Mississippi State QB Will Rogers to enter transfer portal

Published 6:03 pm Friday, November 24, 2023

Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers appears to have played his last game as a Bulldog.

The outlet 247Sports reported Friday that Rogers intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal after four record-setting seasons at Mississippi State.

Rogers has not confirmed that he is entering the portal, but did post what seems to be a farewell message to Mississippi State on his X (formerly known as Twitter) page.

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The transfer portal officially opens on Dec. 4.

“To the Bulldog family: As all of you know, I love the state of Mississippi. It’s been my honor to play for our state at Mississippi State University,” wrote Rogers, a native of Brandon. “I am thankful to have had the privilege of playing Coach Leach, a legend and a friend, and for all of the other coaches who believed in me and gave their all to this program.”

Rogers continued by thankings his teammates and fans for their support before concluding the message with, “I will carry my time at MSU with me forever, no matter where my path may lead. Hail State!”

Rogers played four seasons at Mississippi State, beginning in 2020 as a true freshman, and has one year of eligibility remaining. All NCAA athletes who played in 2020 were granted an extra year of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rogers graduated from Mississippi State in May and will move on as a graduate transfer.

Rogers played in 43 games and started 40, including 38 in a row from 2020-23. He passed for 12,315 passing yards, which ranks second all-time in Southeastern Conference history. He is 851 yards behind Georgia’s Aaron Murray for first place.

Rogers is the SEC’s all-time leader in pass completions in a career (1,301) and season (505 in 2021). He had six 400-yard games and ranks fourth in SEC history with 94 career touchdown passes.

Rogers decided not to transfer from MSU after the death of head coach Mike Leach in December 2021. He had his worst college season under new offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay as the Bulldogs transitioned from Leach’s pass-happy Air Raid offense to a more traditional scheme.

Rogers threw for a career-low 1,626 yards and 12 touchdowns, after throwing 36 and 35 TDs respectively in 2021 and 2022. He also missed four games with a shoulder injury before returning for the last two — a 41-20 win over Southern Miss and a 17-7 loss to Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl on Thanksgiving night.

“Just blessed over the last four years. It hasn’t always been easy, hasn’t always been fun,” Rogers said after Thursday’s loss to Ole Miss. “Kinda hectic over the past 12 months. The Good Lord has a funny way of doing things and I can honestly lay my head tonight and know the Good Lord is in control.”

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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