Mississippi St. QB Will Rogers Adjusts To Life Without Mike Leach, Not To Mention Snaps From Under Center

The Southeastern Conference Media Days that open Monday in Nashville will have a major void this week.

Mississippi State coach Mike Leach and his pirate techniques of football and life will be missed. Leach, one of the most colorful and interesting coaches in SEC history and a passing game savant, passed away last Dec. 12 after complications from a heart condition. He was 61.

"I still hear him," Mississippi State senior quarterback Will Rogers said last month at the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, Louisiana. "There are definitely some things that he told me I still hear in my head."

Rogers will be interviewed on Tuesday at the SEC Media Days along with Leach's replacement - former defensive coordinator Zach Arnett. Running back Jo'quavious Marks and defensive tackle Jaden Drumedy will also be at podiums.

Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers (2) raises the Egg Bowl trophy high after beating rival Ole Miss last Nov. 24 at Ole Miss in State coach Mike Leach's last game. (Photo by Chris McDill via Getty Images).

LSU, Missouri and Texas A&M are first up on Monday, followed by Auburn and Georgia on Tuesday before State. The press conferences continue on Wednesday (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky) and Thursday (Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee).

Will Rogers Remembers Mike Leach's Sayings

"Some sayings he had still pop up," Rogers said. "He used to say, 'If you’re not loaded down with reasons why something won’t work, the reasons it will work will be much clearer.' That's a good one."

Another one Rogers still hears in his head is about confidence - something Rogers is not lacking as the SEC's all-time leader in career completions with 1,159, "He'd say a lot of people think they're confident, but they're really not. You really don't know until you're in an adverse situation."

Mississippi State found itself in the worst of situations when Leach passed away during bowl practices. Leach had just turned in back-to-back winning seasons at State for the first time since 2014 and '15 in only his second and third seasons.

Just three weeks prior, the Bulldogs had finished 8-4 with a 24-22 rival win at No. 20 Ole Miss. They were practicing for the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Florida, when Leach died at a Jackson hospital. He had been rushed there after a heart attack on Sunday, Dec. 11.

Mississippi State Lost Mike Leach During Bowl Practices

"We had a team meeting right after the bowl practice," Rogers said. "And we realized that something was not right. Then we were told he had passed. We couldn't believe it."

Soon, Arnett was promoted to head coach. Rogers led State to a 19-10 win over Illinois in the bowl game for a 9-4 finish. And the next thing he knew, Rogers was at spring practice.

"I mean, it was different for sure," he said while a counselor for the third time at the Manning Passing Academy. "It's kind of like the fine line of remembering Coach Leach and wishing he was still there with us."

Mike Leach's Air Raid Offense Has Been Replaced

Leach's offense is now gone, too. State will be moving on from its former coach's "Air Raid" attack. That was an offense Leach developed and perfected over the last two decades as head coach at Texas Tech and Washington State. Arnett hired offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay from Appalachian State. He runs a more balanced offense with much more of a focus on running the football than Leach. Barbay has also returned the tight end to State's offense. Leach just had wide receivers.

"We are trying to take the install really slow because everything that we're asking them to do is a little bit different than the Air Raid," Barbay said during spring football.

Will Rogers Among Nation's Leading Passers

With the Air Raid, Rogers finished ninth in the nation in aerial yards in 2022 with 3,974 on 415-of-610 passing with 35 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. He completed 505 of 683 for 4,739 yards and 36 touchdowns against nine interceptions in 2021. The 4,739 total remains the third most in SEC history.

Under Leach, Rogers threw 82 career touchdown passes. With just 18 more in the new offense, he will become just the third SEC quarterback ever with 100 TD passes. The top two are Georgia's Aaron Murray with 121 from 2010-13 and Florida Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel with 114 from 1993-96.

In 2021 and '22 under Leach, State finished No. 129 and No. 130 in rushing out of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision schools with 81.7 and 63.2 yards a game, respectively. State rushed 295 times last year and 270 times in 2021. Leach directed a 70 percent pass, 30 percent rush offense the last two seasons.

Mike Leach Was Not A Big Fan Of Balance

That may remind Rogers of another Leach saying:

"There's nothing balanced about the 50 percent run, 50 percent pass, because that's 50 percent stupid," Leach liked to say.

So, Rogers will likely miss more than Leach the man.

"But at the same time, to be completely honest with you, I don't have a lot of time to try to hold myself back on Coach Leach," he said. "He would want me to move on. So, I've tried my best to put the next foot forward and to ultimately lead this football team. That's my job - to bring the guys in the locker room together and realize we have to go win games this year without Coach Leach."

Will Rogers Used To Shotgun Attacks

Rogers literally had to push his feet forward - from the shotgun formation to under center during spring drills.

"I've taken one under-center snap ever," Rogers said during spring practice. "And it was in high school. I'll probably have a little more than one this year, I think."

It was also a new experience for Mississippi State center Cole Smith. "He said the last person to get under center with him was Joe Burrow," Rogers said.

Smith played at LSU in 2018 with Burrow before transferring to Mississippi State. Burrow won the Heisman Trophy and the national championship at LSU in the 2019 season before becoming the first pick of the 2020 NFL Draft by Cincinnati.

"So, I have some big shoes to fill, I guess," Rogers said.

Burrow and former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young are the only two in SEC history with more passing yards in a season than Rogers. Burrow had the SEC record 5,671 in 2019, and Young had 4,872 in 2021. But Rogers is used to running - uh, throwing - with such a crowd.

"Selfish as this may sound," Rogers said as he stood next to higher ranked NFL prospects Quinn Ewers of Texas and Joe Milton of Tennessee at the Manning Passing Academy, "I think I'm one of the best quarterbacks in the country. That's not being arrogant by any means. It's just the confidence I have in myself."

Rogers got that from Leach, who continually fought the "system quarterback" label that many gave Rogers. He is not viewed as a high round NFL pick in 2024.

"That usually comes from somebody who's a little jealous of his numbers," Leach said at one of his last press conferences. "If you add up the touchdowns, they count the same. If you add up the yards, they count the same."

Mike Leach's Offensive Style Popular In The NFL

And if you look at the offense Rogers used to run, it's all over the NFL.

"Well, the whole NFL doesn't think it's dink and dunk," Leach said last season to a reporter who described his offense that way. "That's why they're all running Air Raid concepts, right? Every time I hear that label, that says more about the person that refers to it than it does the Air Raid, really."

The Air Raid may be gone from State, but Rogers plans on remaining as prolific.

"There's a lot of talented guys here," he said. "There always is at the Manning camp. A lot of NFL players for sure, but when you get between the white lines on any given day, I'll put my team against anybody's. That's the willingness to put in the work and be prepared for those games, which is what Coach Leach taught me."

Rogers has learned from the best. He may not be a first rounder in 2024, but he may be NFL ready made.

Will Rogers Will Miss Mike Leach For A Long Time

"It is unique," he said of what he learned under Leach, then he echoed him. "When you put the tape on, there are different Air Raid concepts that are being run in the NFL. They might be twisted and tweaked, but there are definitely Air Raid-ish concepts going on in the NFL."

Now, though, Rogers has to twist and tweak his own game for the balance of Barbay's attack. That will mean passing to a tight end for the first time since he was at Brandon High School near Jackson.

"It's football. I don't care what system you're in," Rogers said. "Either you throw and catch the ball, or you can't."

Right there, Rogers sounded like Leach again.

"I catch myself saying the exact same things he said, sometimes," he said. "It has been hard. I was so close with him. To lose a coach and a friend like that, it hurt me for a long time. And it will continue to hurt me."