The Will Rogers Washington era has come and gone in a matter of days, with the former Mississippi State quarterback re-entering the transfer portal just hours after head coach Kalen DeBoer left to replace Nick Saban at Alabama and 28 days after he committed to the Huskies in the first place.
The former Bulldog is second on the SEC’s all-time passing yard list after he stitched together 12,315 yards across four years with his former team. He averages 286.4 yards per game, and he reached a career-high 4,739 yards and 36 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2021.
One of the biggest quarterback names back on the market again, but is there anyone out there for him? Florida State, Oregon, USC, UCF, Kentucky, and Miami have all already added a quarterback to their roster for the 2024 season.
Which teams are best suited to change themselves under center and give Rogers a final ride? Are there any openings in his home conference to give him a chance at the SEC record books? Here are a few teams to keep an eye on.
If Rogers is going to circle back to the south, he’s going to team up with head coach Hugh Freeze in Auburn. The Tigers finished 6-7 last year and finished one play from beating Alabama, but former Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne was not a high point for the offense. Auburn finished with 162.2 yards per game through the air, almost 20 yards behind any other SEC offense, and PFF credited Thorne with the third-most turnover-worthy plays in the conference despite him ranking 11th in total dropbacks. Only Kentucky’s Devin Leary threw more interceptions than Thorne’s 10. Rogers, despite reaching 600 attempts as a sophomore and a junior, has never thrown more than nine interceptions in a single campaign.
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This would admittedly be a bit of a surprise since Miller Moss and new transfer Jayden Maiava are expected to battle for the USC starting spot, but not a big one. Both of those quarterbacks have multiple years of eligibility remaining and Rogers has just one. Moss has thrown 92 collegiate passes, and Maiava has one year of starting in the Mountain West under his belt. After USC lost five of its last six games in the regular season, head coach Lincoln Riley might want a little more experience as the Trojans make the jump to the Big Ten.
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This would be a little farther off the beaten Power 5 path for Rogers, but in the past three years, the Hilltoppers have produced the nation’s leading passer twice. Bailey Zappe transferred to Western Kentucky for one last year and threw for 5,967 yards and 62 touchdowns, the highest single-season totals in FBS history. The season got him drafted after he spent years in anonymity at Houston Baptist. Former West Florida quarterback Austin Reed threw for a nation-high 4,744 yards the year after. Mississippi State has a little more prestige than those two schools, but Western Kentucky coach Tyson Helton has developed a reputation as someone who can elevate a quarterback. The Hilltoppers have won at least eight games in four of his five seasons, too. Redshirt freshman Caden Veltkamp decided against the portal and Helton would risk pushing a promising young quarterback away, but like USC, Veltkamp has three years of eligibility left and Rogers has just one.
New Houston head coach Willie Fritz spent the past few seasons with Michael Pratt, one of the best quarterbacks outside of the SEC or the Big Ten. Now, he’s with Houston, who finished 65th in the FBS in team passer rating last season after 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions from starter Donovan Smith. Fritz already lured Louisiana quarterback Zeon Chriss from the transfer portal just last week, but Rogers wasn’t on the market at the time. The freshman Chriss offers promise, but he’s thrown 12 touchdowns and six interceptions across 168 collegiate passes. Fritz could really announce Houston’s return to the Big 12 title fight with a bang if he could give Rogers his last ride while Chriss waits in the wings for the future.
Alabama already has a quarterback. In fact, Jalen Milroe finished sixth in Heisman voting last season, led the Crimson Tide to an SEC title game, and will be an early Heisman favorite in 2024. However, DeBoer handpicked Rogers to be his next quarterback from the portal. Just last season, while it didn’t end with him starting, we saw Tyler Buchner follow offensive coordinator Tommy Rees from Notre Dame to Alabama. It might not be likely (and assuredly wouldn’t be smart as a first impression) for the newest Alabama head coach to say his guy is his guy, but maybe the former Washington coach has his heart set on Rogers running his offense in 2024. All we’re saying is that it’s possible.
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This is still a likely option at the end of the day. Rogers put his name back out there in case he doesn’t like the next Washington head coach, which is a better idea than handcuffing himself to a program that isn’t the one he committed to. However, if a name like Huskies offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb gets promoted internally, it’s easy to see Rogers deciding Seattle is still his best option. If there’s an outside hire, however, the chances that they and Rogers are on the same page dramatically decrease.