STARKVILLE— Will Rogers walked over to the assembled media during Sunday’s availability with a grin across his face.
Mississippi State’s senior starting quarterback had just earned the ultimate praise from graduate student offensive lineman Kwatrivous Johnson before his time in front of the camera.
“To me, he’s a Heisman Trophy candidate,” Johnson said.
Having already been named to the Wuerffel Trophy and Maxwell Award watch lists, as well as earning preseason All-Southeastern Conference honors this summer, Rogers, a Brandon native, has plenty of eyes on him leading up to the start of the 2023 season.
However, his attention turned to the younger players on the roster who have impressed so far in training camp.
“In the running back room, there’s definitely some new faces,” Rogers said. “[Jeffrey] Pittman, Key[vone Lee], both of those backs have done a really good job in the backfield for us.”
New names are also stepping into bigger roles in the receiver room.
Justin Robinson, who has caught just 15 passes in his Mississippi State career, has progressed well as he enters his redshirt junior season.
Additionally, true freshman Creed Whittemore, reprising longtime-Bulldog Austin Williams’ No. 85 on the field, has turned some heads among those within the program thus far.
“Creed’s got a little different gear that you don’t see out of a lot of slot receivers,” Rogers said. “He can really run. He’s really twitchy. The number thing is kind of a weird coincidence I guess, but Creed’s definitely got a bright future. He just needs to keep working.”
Saturday saw the Bulldogs hold their first scrimmage, closed to the media, and, according to Rogers, it highlighted several things the team can address before the start of the season, Sept. 2.
“I thought we did some good things,” Rogers said. “Definitely some things that we need to work on. I think the main thing is that we just have to be more consistent as an offense. We were really explosive on some drives, ending drives in touchdowns, and then you saw some drives where we were turning the ball over, going 3-and-out.”
Pickering excited about the depth, newcomers on MSU’s defensive line
Last season, defensive tackle Nathan Pickering was a jack-of-all-trades on the defensive line for Mississippi State.
The senior played in 11 games, recording 25 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, making his presence felt amongst the Bulldog defense.
Pickering is one of the veterans on the defensive line, a position gourp that returns both important depth and faced significant turnover for 2023.
“It definitely helps having that experience out in the field, having something that the younger guys can look up to,” Pickering said. “We have to work on every day, coming out here and leading as vets, showing the guys the way, how it’s supposed to be.”
Along with its group of upperclassmen on the defensive line, Mississippi State is rostering five true freshmen and four redshirt freshmen .
Players like Pickering, Jaden Crumedy and Jordan Davis, among others, will be the veteran leaders of the group, but among the influx of youth, there’s a willingness to learn and improve.
“Caleb [Bryant] is one,” Pickering said. “He came out and he’s been making strides throughout this camp. Gabe [Moore] is showing some strides and Joe [Head Jr.], he’s probably the main one, the one that I think has the best brain, best head on his shoulders. He picks up things really quickly and he goes after it.”
Like on the defensive line, the offensive line has plenty of depth and experience returning to the lineup for this season.
Pickering and the defense lines up against his teammates on the other side of the ball six times a week.
That experience has been invaluable, especially for the younger players on defense, as Mississippi State gears up for a Southeastern Conference slate that includes the likes of LSU, Alabama and Ole Miss.
“It helps us a lot, going up against guys like Nick Jones and Cole Smith, definitely helps us knowing those guys have hundreds of SEC snaps,” Pickering said.
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