Will Rogers is still the youngest quarterback Mike Leach says he’s ever coached.

The sophomore from Brandon took over the starting job at Mississippi State midseason in 2020 and has remained the Bulldogs’ No. 1 QB into 2021. Two games in, he’s delivered two solid performances to help Mississippi State beat Louisiana Tech and NC State.

Leach said Monday that Rogers’ performance in Saturday’s 24-10 win over the Wolfpack represented more progress from a young signal-caller who still has plenty of room to improve.

“I think he took a step,” Leach said. “There’s no question about it.”

Rogers went 33 of 49 for 294 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions against NC State. The prior week, he was 39 of 47 for 370 yards, three touchdowns and a pick.

Rogers is 11th in the country in passing yards through two games, though his yards per attempt mark of 6.9 is 78th in the nation. But on Wednesday’s SEC teleconference, Leach pushed back on the idea that Rogers needs to throw the ball downfield more.

Two days earlier, the second-year MSU coach praised his quarterback’s ability not to try to do too much while pointing out a play in which Rogers threw the ball out of bounds while the Bulldogs tried to run out the clock.

“I think it’s critical,” Leach said. “He did good every time until there at the end.”

Above Rogers by two spots on the yards leaderboard is Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan, a freshman who has led the Tigers to a 2-0 record. Ahead of Saturday’s game, Leach said it’s not easy for a passer even younger than Rogers to adjust to the college level.

“The biggest thing is you’re trying to teach a lot in a short period of time,” Leach said Monday. “He threw a lot in high school, too, so that will help him. The biggest thing is you do what you do and hopefully keep it all in control at the same time.”

Arnett talks Tigers

With Henigan at the helm, the Tigers have amassed the best offense in college football with 633.5 yards per game.

“Obviously you don’t expect that from someone being led by a true freshman, but he’s doing it, so the proof’s in the pudding,” defensive coordinator Zach Arnett said Wednesday. “The guy’s a hell of a player.”

But running back Brandon Thomas, wide receiver Calvin Austin III and other talented playmakers give Henigan the help he needs. Memphis has rushed for 585 yards in two games, good for eighth in the nation.

“They win the line of scrimmage,” Arnett said. “You can tell that’s a program that understands the more physical you are, the more aggressive you are, typically the better results it leads to. They’ve got great speed on the outside. They can throw the ball. The quarterback’s playing phenomenal. You look at their O-line and running backs, they are running people off the ball and dividing the defense and hitting huge seams. We’ve got a heck of a challenge trying to slow down that run game.”

He credited his defense for stopping the outside run and thus shutting down NC State’s run game, limiting Zonovan Knight and Ricky Person, Jr. to 50 yards on 16 carries.

But the Tigers’ passing game is beyond that of the Wolfpack, and Austin — who had 239 yards and three touchdowns last week against Arkansas State — isn’t Memphis’ only threat.

“Every guy out there looks to me like he has elite speed,” Arnett said. “When you’re in zone coverage, you’ve got to do a good job of staying on routes and not getting run by, and obviously man coverage, you’re going to get in some footraces. We’ve got to do a good job of getting pressure and not allowing the ball to be held onto for a long time for them to run by us.”

Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.