Player Spotlight: QB Gary Rogers, Washington State Cougars

July 7th, 2008 by Jason Roberts

Introduced to new head coach Paul Wulff during the off-season , the Washington State Cougars have the daunting task of finding a suitable replacement for now-departed star quarterback, Alex Brink. Attempting to institute a new no-huddle spread offense, Wulff has yet to identify a competent starter under center for 2008 .

The offense is dependent on a QB that can throw accurately through the air and remain mobile enough to scramble on the ground. As the fall quickly approaches, fantasy owners need to become a heck of a lot more familiar with senior quarterback Gary Rogers (right, Icon SMI). It appears, as of now, that Rogers has established himself as the favorite to head up the Cougars offense once late August rolls around.

Heading into spring scrimmages, Rogers carried a slight advantage over his competition (junior Kevin Lopina emerged as his major competitor) given that he’s played at real-time speed in actual games as a back-up to Brink. His numbers to date have been anything but impressive.

In 2006, he completed 18 of 31 passes for 214 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Last year, as a junior, he managed to complete only 4 of 16 for 18 yards and an interception in contests against USC, Arizona, UCLA, and Oregon State. However, the Cougars’ new coaching staff has been impressed with what the senior accomplished during spring drills and practices in terms of implementing an entirely new offensive system.

Rogers looked solid in this year’s edition of the Cougars’ annual spring game, held at the start of April. This scrimmage was almost cancelled due to a concern by Wulff that his team would not have enough players available to physically play the game. In the contest, the senior tossed for 129 yards on 11 of 17 passes and hit senior wideout Brandon Gibson for a 10-yard touchdown, one of two Rogers tossed on the day. Lopina looked strong as well, going 8 of 12 passing with his own 10-yard scoring pass along with a rushing touchdown acquired on a seven-yard scramble. Still, when all was said and done, Rogers was the player identified by the Wazzu coaching staff as having the more commanding presence out on the field. They also consider him as being the strongest leader of the three lead quarterbacks that participated in practices throughout the entire spring.

There are some concerns surrounding Rogers’ ability to adequately lead a high-octane, no-huddle offense. Standing 6’7” and weighing in at 233 pounds, the quarterback offers a physical presence in the pocket, but does not offer the mobility that Wulff would like to see in his signal-caller. This is an offensive scheme that relies on the ability of the quarterback to make the play through the air or on the ground. In regard to the latter, redshirt freshman Marshall Lobbestael would seem the more logical choice in terms of building for the future. Still, Wullf stands by his senior QB and made it clear that the starting job is now Rogers’ to lose.

When all is said and done, it is Rogers’ ability to throw the ball that gives him the clear edge and the coaching staff wants the best player to lead the transition on offense for the Cougars. Keep in mind, Rogers was ranked as high as 29th nationally by TheInsiders.com when he was recruited by the Cougars out of Kamiak High School in Mukilteo, Washington. That being said, given the wide array of weapons at wide receiver (senior standout Brandon Gibson and world-record amateur sprint champion, Jeshua Anderson), the Washington State quarterback certainly appears to have all the ingredients necessary for a solid (if not outstanding) season come this fall. Also, four offensive linemen return as starters in 2008 and should provide Rogers with adequate time to get the ball downfield out of multiple-receiver sets at the line of scrimmage.