Will Rogers vs. Mike Wright: Who Should Be The Starting Quarterback For Mississippi State?

Will Rogers is the veteran figure in Mississippi State's quarterback room, and has been since he took the starting job away from K.J. Costello during the 2020 season.

But some think that it's time for a change transitioning into a new era with former Vanderbilt transfer quarterback Mike Wright on the team.

In all three games of the 2023 season, Rogers has consistently thrown incomplete passes, been sacked multiple times, and gained negative yards. During the 41-14 loss against LSU, MSUstruggled to make big plays, with a large sense of stagnancy on offense.

The student section began to chant towards the sideline saying "We Want Mike," insinuating that Wright should replace Rogers in the game. During the preseason, Arnett discussed how he planned to utilize both quarterbacks on the field, but the offense has been set with the veterans taking the stage leaving the newbies out.

When asked how he felt about the chanting, this is what Arnett told the press:

"We're not spending our time listening to the chants coming out of the student section."

Rogers was asked about the same thing.

"I don't really pay attention to what anybody said, I don't really care," he said. "If it's not in our locker room or in our gym, I don't really care."

Both coach and quarterback choose to block out these comments, but after seeing Wright play better than Rogers during the game against Southeastern Louisiana, the fans clearly have a yearning to see something else -- whether that's ultimately right or wrong.

There are a couple things to consider if Arnett were to make this switch. Rogers has been the leader of this team for over three years now. He knows his supporting cast that's still intact since the roster turnover, and they know him. With those players, there's a chemistry and a bond that does make for good communication on the field and serves in several positive ways.

If Rogers were to be taken out, Wright would be starting from scratch learning how to play with this team, and there's no guarantee that things would be consistently as positive as the sparks he's shown in some of the packages designed for him in a full game as the starting quarterback.

It may benefit the team to run a rotating quarterback system or use Wright on more plays designed specifically for him to continue adding an extra wrinkle into the offense.

But, before making any major and immediate changes during this season, there will be a lot of logistics and things to take into consideration for Arnett and his staff.

As things currently stand, it is Rogers who remains atop the depth chart heading into the Week 4 matchup against the South Carolina Gamecocks.