Leach, Cumbie cross paths once more
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Few people were around to witness the first get-together between Mike Leach and Sonny Cumbie more than 20 years ago. There was no reason for it to draw a crowd.
It was a young, first-time head football coach giving a campus tour to a high-school recruit — and a mere walk-on candidate, at that.
Five years later, Cumbie’s signature performance as a player — throwing for 520 yards in a Holiday Bowl upset of fourth-ranked, Aaron Rodgers-led California — keyed one of the most memorable of Leach’s 150 career victories.
On Tuesday, a lot of people will be paying attention when Leach, now the head coach at Mississippi State, and Cumbie come together again, leading teams on opposite sides at the Liberty Bowl.
It’ll be Cumbie’s last game as interim head coach at Tech (6-6) before he goes off to be head coach at Louisiana Tech.
The campus tour Leach gave Cumbie set him on that path. He walked on, earned a scholarship in a year’s time, became starting quarterback as a senior and eventually, when his playing days ended, rejoined Leach as a young coach.
“All of those things — getting my foot in the door as a player, getting my foot in the door as a coach — I’m very appreciative and have a ton of respect for him for allowing me to do those things,” Cumbie said Monday.
Tech has to win to avoid finishing below .500 for the sixth year in a row. Cumbie took over a 5-4 team after the dismissal of Matt Wells in late October and made the Red Raiders bowl eligible with a Nov. 13 upset of Iowa State. Wells’ staff remains almost completely intact for the bowl game, even four of the five who have found their next jobs elsewhere.
“Our players, you can’t give them enough credit for everything they’ve gone through for the season,” Cumbie said. “All that is stuff you reflect on after tomorrow night, and hopefully when you reflect on it after tomorrow night, you’re feeling good about how things went.”
ESPN will televise the game, many tuning in to see Leach facing his former program for the first time since Tech fired him in December 2009. Tech alleged Leach did not observe proper concussion protocol in dealing with tight end Adam James and used affidavits of support from four medical professionals in firing him with cause.
Leach has battled his former employer in the courts since.
Leach called Red Raiders fans “fantastic” and added, “I think we shared 10 great years.”
“I guess in Lubbock there were four bad apples that were determined to cheat me out of my salary and the other four years on my contract,” he said, “and then continue to hide documents illegally. (Other than) that, I thought everybody was great.”
Mississippi State beat three ranked opponents this season — SEC rivals Texas A&M, Kentucky and Auburn — and is No. 21 in the FBS in both total offense and total defense. With Memphis sitting only 180 miles from the MSU campus in Starkville, Mississippi, it could feel like a home game as well for the Bulldogs, whose fans are known for their noisy cowbells.
“Our guys have played in some live environments this year,” Cumbie said, “but I’m sure there’ll be a lot of cowbells and our guys will have to communicate very well.”
Colombi departs
Quarterback Henry Colombi, who started all five Tech games in October, is no longer part of the program.
“He has moved on,” Cumbie said. “I think it was more of a personal decision.”
Colombi was the starter in Tech victories at West Virginia and Kansas, but he yielded the job to redshirt freshman Donovan Smith for the last three regularseason games. Smith also will start Tuesday’s game.
Colombi was a senior this season. He can play another season, however, because of the free year of eligibility the NCAA granted all players for the COVID-disrupted 2020 season.
QB comparisons
Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers has thrown for 4,449 yards and 35 touchdowns, and he’s only a sophomore. Asked which of his former Tech quarterbacks Rogers most resembles, Leach said Graham Harrell.
“He’s a lot like Graham from the standpoint he had the ability to play well, play early and his father was a high-school coach,” Leach said. “He knew a lot about offense and liked throwing the ball, so he already had a good knowledge base and the ability to watch film.”
Players sidelined
Tech wide receiver Loic Fouonji and linebacker Jacob Morgenstern haven’t practiced this week in Memphis. Fouonji has been sidelined by a shoulder injury, and Cumbie said Morgenstern has had issues with a shoulder and sickness.