Glossy Numbers Aside, Here's Why Will Rogers Is a Good Fit at UW

When he showed up in town two years ago, Michael Penix Jr. was a perfect fit for the University of Washington football offense because he'd taken the high-powered attack out for a previous test drive for Kalen DeBoer.

From their time spent together in Indiana, they were on the same play-calling, audible-changing page from the beginning of the lefty's Montlake stay.

All of this elaborate offensive continuity led to 25 wins in 28 games, including Alamo and Sugar bowl victories, and a record-setting run by Penix and a national championship bid by the Huskies.

Next up is Mississippi State transfer Will Rogers, likewise looking to find quarterback nirvana in Seattle and sample some of the career advancement his predecessor enjoyed.

While Penix mostly had to learn how to play a full schedule after suffering four season-ending injuries in the Big Ten, Rogers will have to return to something less gimmicky to make himself NFL ready 

For three seasons at Mississippi State, he was immersed in Mike Leach's push-button and pass-happy Air Raid attack and then forced to adjust to something supposedly more balanced from the forgettable one-year coaching reign of Zach Arnett in Starkville, Mississippi. Think Jimmy Lake insisting on using John Donovan's run-first offense.

Further complicating things, Rogers is now on his second Husky football coach in 17 days.

What's happened in an impressive manner is how new UW leader Jedd Fisch just did his best sales job when he talked Rogers into finishing his college football career outside of the South, if not outside of his comfort zone.

During his presentation, this persuasive new Husky coach holds up his 14 seasons of NFL coaching experience as a ready carrot in selling his program to just about anyone.

"Coach Fisch told me today, 'I want to treat you like a professional football player,' " Rogers said to 247sports. "I told him that's what I want,' and that's what I'm looking to do."

Fisch will tell his quarterbacks that he's been behind the scenes with Bill Belichick, Sean McVay, Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll, guys who have won Super Bowls, who have scored a lot of points. His offense is an NFL-style passing offense made to order for the serious pro prospect.

"What does it take?" Fisch said. "That's what we sell. We sell that development window there. We sell that experience and the opportunity that we can get you in front of those coaches."

The DeBoer staff did as much homework as it could on Rogers before it left town. While his 12,315 career yards and 94 touchdowns were strong selling points, quarterbacks are like lead singers in a rock band — they need to fit with the supporting cast, to be in harmony. 

Penix did this well; Rogers, it seems, has similar potential to share himself with everyone and maintain a low ego. Most of all, it's a matter of delivering the football.

"They've got a lot of experience, a lot of yards, a lot of checks that they've made and a lot of big moments," DeBoer said of Penix and Rogers. "There's probably more similarities than there are differences. There's also the similarity of being a very accurate passer. Until you're with someone, it's hard to know exactly about that."

Former UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb sat Rogers down to get tot know him. They watched last season's Mississippi State-South Carolina game, which was a 37-30 loss for the quarterback, who had to explain all of his decisions and actions in a game he didn't win.

"You have to see the level of intelligence he has and Will's a really, really bright kid," Grubb said.

At the outset of his career, Rogers came off the bench for his first three outings as a Mississippi State freshman and then opened 38 consecutive games for his SEC team as Leach committed to him. His win-loss record was 23-17, 2-1 in bowl games.

The 2023 season admittedly wasn't his best. Rogers injured a shoulder and appeared in just eight of the 12 games, going 4-4. Arnett had been elevated to head coach once Leach died suddenly of a heart attack in the offseason and he was let go when the Bulldogs finished no better than 5-7.

One of the attractions to Rogers is the fact he had to deal with an offensive change in the last of four Mississippi State seasons, which is difficult to do, and he didn't freak out.

"He transitioned last year and I thought it was one of the segues that helps a little bit," said Grubb, now at Alabama. "Last year he wasn't in the Air Raid system. He was in a different system. He had to make some of the jumps into that."

He's now in the Fisch sytsem, with Grubb a former acquaintance, looking to make things happen.