Why Will Rogers wants eyes on Mississippi State football's new offense under Zach Arnett
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State football’s spring game provided some answers, but the 2023 season for the Bulldogs still features questions.
How will Zach Arnett perform as a first-time head coach in the SEC? What will offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay’s offense look like? Can quarterback Will Rogers play in a system that isn’t the Air Raid?
Playing in a brutal conference, a plethora of uncertainty typically doesn’t boost optimism. That doesn’t seem to bother Rogers who claims the Bulldogs are just fine with eyes on the program as it transitions from Mike Leach to Arnett.
“We want to play in big games,” Rogers said after his team’s 17-7 win in the spring game. “We want the pressure on us. We want it to be hard. That goes to show we’ve done a lot of good things over the last couple years. We’re a tight group that’s played a lot of ball together.”
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To get to the large stages Rogers envisions, his offense will have to utilize the potential flashed in previous years. Wide receivers Tulu Griffin and Zavion Thomas have shown their ability to break big plays on special teams, but they never seemed to flourish in the Air Raid offense.
Griffin broke a 43-yard touchdown run on a reverse four plays into the game Saturday. Thomas caught a one-handed 55-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Rogers calls that ability, “lighting in a bottle.” He thinks it can be unleashed in the fall.
“You can’t coach speed,” Arnett says. “Pretty simple, right?”
The key to utilizing those skills comes from the plays that aren’t eye-popping. Mississippi State had 11 first-down runs go for more than four yards — which Arnett believes unlocks the offense.
With the defense being forced to come in rather than drop eight, it creates more explosive threats in the passing game for Rogers. Much of that is credit to an experienced offensive line embracing its new responsibility.
“In the past three years with coach Leach, the pressure was kind of on the defensive line because they had to rush the passer every play,” Rogers said. “Those big guys don’t like to run every single play. It’s kind of the reverse now. Now, it’s kind of on the offensive line to really get off the ball and move guys.”
Mississippi State had 56 rushing attempts to its 47 passes, though the usual two-deep running backs Jo’quavious Marks and Simeon Price weren’t available. Junior college running back Jeffery Pittman and freshman Seth Davis carried the load, combining for 101 yards on 29 rushes.
Rogers even joined in on the ground game, running for 12 yards on three non-sacks.
Eventually, it won’t be shocking to see Rogers keeping to ball, Griffin taking a reverse or Mississippi State lining up with two tight ends on the field. The time will come where it’s the norm again in Starkville.
Will wins accompany the change?
“The sky is the limit for us,” Rogers said. “We can be as good as we want to be.”
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: Will Rogers wants eyes on Mississippi State football under Zach Arnett
