Mississippi State's Zach Arnett: 'It's Too Early to Name Starting Quarterback'
Mississippi State's Week 11 matchup with SEC rival Texas A&M has question marks for both teams' quarterbacks.
Aggies signal-caller Max Johnson suffered an apparent rib injury against Ole Miss last Saturday, but on Monday, head coach Jimbo Fisher said that he expects him to face the Bulldogs. If he's unavailable, Fresno State transfer Jaylen Henderson would get his number called.
Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett called Johnson a "tough football player" during Monday's press conference, and that his defense would be challenged by him if he's able to play. However, he has quarterback injury issues of his own with Will Rodgers.
Rogers has been out with a shoulder injury since Oct. 7, and Mississippi State is 1-2 throughout that span. Senior Mike Wright was the lone man under center during the first two games, but freshman Chris Parson additionally played several snaps against Kentucky.
Arnett explained that "it's too early to name a starting quarterback" against Texas A&M, but if Rodgers is unavailable once again, both Wright and Parson would play. However, he stressed that Parson's time spent learning from Wright and Rodgers "has been beneficial to him."
"To his credit, Chris is a worker," Arnett said. "He is as passionate about learning the game of football and doing everything that he can control to prepare himself as anyone in the program. It has been fun to see his development."
The 19-year-old couldn't scrimmage or play in the spring game due to rehab from a knee injury that he suffered in his senior year of high school. Arnett detailed how Parson had improvised and overcome an unfortunate start to his collegiate career.
"He's done a great job of doing everything he can do to control his preparation in the film room, extra meeting time with coach (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Kevin) Barbay or with Mike and Will and I have no doubt he'll continue to do that," Arnett said.
