5 things about Mike Leach’s vision at MSU
HOOVER, Ala. — Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach mostly stayed on script Wednesday while addressing the media at SEC Media Days.
The coach, who is known for his offtopic rants and opinions, talked about Mississippi State's football future, the landscape of college football and how to handle this season with the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccinations remaining a topic of conversation.
Here are five things we learned about Mississippi State from Leach's news conference.
Mike Leach will pick just one QB
Will Rogers returns to Mississippi State for his sophomore season as an incumbent starting quarterback. But Mississippi State also reinvigorated its quarterback room with freshmen Sawyer Robertson and Daniel Greek and transfers like former Southern Miss starter Jack Abraham.
Leach said he's looking forward to seeing how the competition drives his players to get better, but he will eventually settle on two quarterbacks to pit against one another in practice and then one for games.
“I doubt we'll play two quarterbacks because that's not just an adjustment to the quarterbacks, it's an adjustment to the team and the players around them,” Leach said.
Leach isn’t concerned about the air raid
Mississippi State jumped out to a huge start last year, beating LSU 44-34 by throwing for an Sec-record 623 yards and five touchdowns. The offense slowed down after that, only breaking 400 yards one time after. But Leach isn't concerned that the production slowdown happened because the league adjusted to his air raid. He thinks the offense will bounce back as his players gain experience.
“I don't think we got a false sense as much as we were an evolving team and so was LSU,” Leach said. “I think that we played several other quality teams extremely close. Then I think that in some cases our experience caught up with us, in some cases, although everybody had it but you never knew where it would hit, who was available to play from one week to the next. But we got better as the year went on.”
Leach wants a bigger playoff. Much bigger.
Leach was asked about playoff expansion. He said he'd get on board for a 12-team playoff as has been proposed, but he thinks the NCAA should dream bigger.
“I think 12 teams is a huge step in the right direction,” Leach said. “I personally would like to see 64, and you could format it out pretty easily, but I think it's a huge step in the right direction, and I look forward to it.”
Leach has a unique plan for NIL
Leach was asked about name, image and likeness payments to his players. Leach said he hasn't concerned himself too much with specific NIL issues, but he has cooked up an idea that could address both NIL and the transfer portal.
“I was talking to a good friend of mine, and we were bouncing this around, and what if — and this is a what if, there may be holes in this idea — but what if, when you sign a guy, on graduation they receive, say, $100,000 or $150,000 on graduation,” Leach said. “You only get it if you graduate. You have to graduate. If you graduate, after you graduate from that school, you get $150,000.”
Leach has no interest in talking about his vaccination status
Leach was asked how he addresses his team about vaccines and deferred to the medical community. He was then asked if he's vaccinated and he chose against answering.
“If I was or I wasn't, I wouldn't share it with you,” Leach said. “But again, we leave that to the doctors and anybody's doctor or care provider.” nsuss@gannett.com
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