Here's Why the Conversation About Will Rogers Often Seems Muted

The widespread feeling across college football is Will Rogers, the new University of Washington quarterback, must be that he's the product of inflated passing stats rather than a one-size-fits-all signal-caller.

It's the only way to explain why Rogers, a 40-game starter and 12,315-yard passer for Mississippi State, doesn't generate more conversation when the college game's top-level quarterbacks are discussed.

For example, NCAAF Nation this week ranked the top 50 FBS quarterbacks and Rogers turned up 32nd -- and as the fourth best at his position in the Big Ten., where he'll put his talents on display after four seasons in the SEC.

At 6-foot-2 and 204 pounds, Rogers isn't as physically imposing as his Husky predecessor, Michael Penix Jr., who played at an inch taller and 10 pounds heavier and proved to be an intimidating figure when taking the field for the UW last season.

Rogers spent his first three seasons at Mississippi State in the late Mike Leach's pass-first Air Raid offense, winning the job as a freshman.

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Maybe the best thing about Rogers is he's a realist when it comes to what he can and can't do on the football field.

"I'm not Michael Penix or anything like that," he said memorably during spring practice. "I'm not going to be able to make some of the throws or the plays that he made. I'm my own self. With that being said, there's just a confidence between myself that a lot of quarterbacks have. When I'm between the white lines, I like myself."

While some lists such as this one tend to rank QBs higher simply because of which powerhouse school they play for, this particular NCAAF listing seemed overly fair.

Jedd Fisch's Arizona quarterback last year, third-yearsophomore Noah Fifita, turns up third. No arguments there. He's a playmaker who creates a lot of offense. Kansas State's Avery Johnson, a one-time Husky recruit for Kalen DeBoer, ranked higher than Rogers, at No. 27, and he was sensational at the end of last season when he got a chance to play as a freshman.

Then there's USC's Miller Moss. He turned up at No. 40, which seemed fair because he really hasn't played much, spending the past two seasons behind Caleb Williams. Other lists had him as a top 10 QB for no other reason than he plays for USC, with the reasoning he has to be good. It's time for him to prove it rather than people assume it.

Rogers will have ample opportunity to show he's better than his No. 32 ranking while running Fisch's pro-style offense, which should give the internet analysts and NFL scouts a much better idea of where his talent level stands.

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