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Why Laura Rutledge considers Mississippi State football's Will Rogers an NFL prospect

stefan krajisnik, mississippi clarion ledger
·2 min read
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STARKVILLE — As host of NFL Live and SEC Nation, ESPN's Laura Rutledge has been asked which players from college football’s top conference have potential to play at the next level.

Alabama’s Bryce Young and Kentucky’s Will Levis garner much of the attention, but Rutledge has told teams to keep an eye on Mississippi State football’s Will Rogers.

“It depends on where people pick, but he's probably getting a little bit more NFL attention than people are talking about because so much of the focus is on some of these other quarterbacks,” Rutledge told the Clarion Ledger on Wednesday. “He continues to put up these numbers. He continues to play mistake-free football, for the most part, and orchestrate an offense.”

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Rutledge is set to join SEC Nation as it makes a return to Starkville for the first time since 2019. It'll provide the pregame hype for a matchup between No. 23 Mississippi State (4-1, 1-1 SEC) and No. 25 Arkansas (3-2 1-2) on Saturday (11 a.m., SEC Network).

Depending on the status of Arkansas’ KJ Jefferson, it could be a meeting of two of the top quarterbacks in a conference she considers to be loaded with talent at the position.

SEC Nation host Laura Rutledge during the filming of the SEC Nation college football show, at the Plaza of the Americas on the University of Florida campus, in Gainesville, Fla. Sept. 18, 2021.
SEC Nation host Laura Rutledge during the filming of the SEC Nation college football show, at the Plaza of the Americas on the University of Florida campus, in Gainesville, Fla. Sept. 18, 2021.

Rutledge says the NFL continues to see success from teams with a respectable running game, but that doesn’t necessarily hurt Air Raid quarterbacks. Ultimately, Rutledge added, the NFL is still a passing league with a constant need for quarterbacks who can deliver big passes.

She thinks Rogers has the talent to do so.

“He could end up being a great pro prospect and certainly is right there in the mix for top five quarterbacks in this league right now,” Rutledge said, “which is really saying something considering all the talent.”

Rogers leads the SEC with 1,715 passing yards. He also leads the SEC and is tied for the FBS lead with 19 touchdowns. He has thrown three interceptions on an SEC-high 234 pass attempts.

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Laura Rutledge: Mississippi State football's Will Rogers an NFL prospect