Former Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers committed to Washington Friday, giving the Huskies a clear successor to star quarterback Michael Penix Jr. for the 2024 season. Rogers is one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in SEC history and will spend his final season on the West Coast to help aid UW’s transition to the Big Ten.
Rogers signed with Mississippi State in 2020. He owns the SEC career completions record. His 12,315 passing yards and 94 passing touchdowns rank second and fourth in conference history. Rogers ranked as the No. 53 overall player available and the No. 11 quarterback available in the 247Sports portal rankings.
The veteran signal caller had a chance to chance to break the SEC’s all-time passing record held by former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray, but a shoulder injury suffered in an Oct. 7 win over Western Michigan forced him to miss some time. In his final game at Mississippi State against Ole Miss, Rogers completed 25 of his 39 passes for 207 yards in a 17-7 loss.
Washington coach Kalen DeBoer used the transfer portal to land Penix from Indiana when he took the job in 2021. Penix revived his career with the Huskies and led the program to a 13-0 record and a spot in the College Football Playoff, earning an invitation to New York City as a Heisman finalist along the way.
Using the transfer portal to get a veteran
In the new era of college football, it has become more and more common for a program to get a proven signal caller through the transfer portal over a highly-touted quarterback out of the high school ranks. Washington signed Sam Huard — the No. 3 quarterback in the 2021 recruiting cycle — and elected to instead start Penix last season. The Indiana transfer ranked as the No. 23…
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