Kevin Barbay addresses plans to use Mike Wright on the field with Will Rogers
Will Rogers is the quarterback at Mississippi State, Mike Wright is the backup. It’s as simple as that.
But Bulldogs offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay doesn’t mind tinkering with a few things. Wright was a dynamic dual threat quarterback at Vanderbilt before he transferred into the program.
Rogers and Wright were on the field at the same time during practice, which begged the question if there will be some specific packages this fall.
“Mike is obviously, he’s a very explosive athlete, and he can do some things,” Barbay said. “And you know, like I’ve told you guys before, without getting too specific, it’s about putting your best players on the field and the guys that can create explosive plays, no matter who or what, 11 guys that is. We’ve messed with a few things and think going forward, we’ll continue evaluating each week what explosive players we have.”
In 10 games last year, Wright played the best football out of three years at Vanderbilt. He had 974 yards passing, 12 touchdowns, four interceptions, a 57.4% completion percentage, 517 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Over the course of his career, Wright has 2,067 yards, 21 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, a 55.3% completion percentage, 905 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns.
As a member of the Class of 2020, Wright was a three-star recruit out of Atlanta (Ga.) Woodward Academy, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 66 overall prospect in the state, the No. 39 quarterback in the class and the No. 573 overall prospect in the class.
But Wright is behind Rogers, who’s become a staple at Mississippi State.
Despite going from an air-raid style under the late Mike Leach to a more pro style approach under Barbay, Rogers is comfortable.
“I think the biggest difference in this offense is just it’s going to be a more balanced attack,” Rogers said. “11, 12 personnel. More designed runs, more runs for the run game schematically. RPOs. I mean it’s just a normal pro-style offense for us. I think we really look forward to accepting that challenge and maybe expanding our offense a little bit.”
Rogers threw 35 and 36 touchdowns over the last two seasons, respectively, and had over 4,700 yards in 2021. Over the course of his career, he has 10,689 yards, 82 touchdowns, 24 interceptions and a 70.7% completion percentage.
Could Rogers toss the rock to Wright and watch him down field? Or have some two-quarterback-system that could actually work?
Well, we can’t wait to watch Mississippi State’s offense then.
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