Mike Leach Meets With Media Following Practice
October 20, 2020 | Football
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's Mike Leach held his weekly press conference on Tuesday evening, following the Bulldogs' practice.
Below are the quotes from Leach's press conference.
Head Coach Mike Leach - Oct. 20, 2020
Q: What is the first thing for you to get cleaned up before you prepare for Alabama?
ML: "We have to be as sharp fundamentally as we can. Really focus on fundamentals and details. Some of those things have been exposed, that we're not as sharp as we need to be. That's the thing, it's just complete work. The better we are with those details, the more consistent we have a chance to be."
Q: Is there an update on Kylin Hill's status with the team?
ML: "No there's no update. He's still unavailable, dealing with personal issues."
Q: What's the process going to be like for you between K.J. Costello and Will Rogers? Are they going to split reps? What do you want to see out of them to win that job?
ML: "They'll split reps and we'll see who moves the offense the best."
Q: Were you able to see the protestors running onto the field during the game and what was your reaction?
ML: "I didn't see much of it. I don't know what was being protested. I didn't know it was even a protest. I don't know much about it. Maybe you can elaborate on it. I hadn't thought about it until just now. I did see some action out there between quarters or something, but I was preoccupied."
Q: What were the conversations like with Garrett Shrader around putting his name in the transfer portal? Did you have any kind of message for him before he entered the portal?
ML: "No, not really. I think Garrett wants to play quarterback. We wish him the best. He was a good teammate, and we enjoyed having him."
Q: After you reviewed the film, what jumped out to you both good and bad?
ML: "The good was I thought we played hard, but we were again inconsistent and sloppy. Texas A&M is a very experienced team, and they played like they were an experienced team. We have some inexperience, and we played like that too. It was a fairly close game until the end. We had a chance to win it, and we squandered some opportunities. No question about that. We have to sure that up and sharpen it up."
Q: How do you break down the struggles up front concerning the offensive line?
ML: "We did a couple things. One, we missed assignments. We missed way too many assignments. I think we've got to communicate better. I think this week is definitely important for us to do that. We have to sharpen our communication. I think there's way too much indecision and lack of communication with that group, or there was last game. We've had straight up run throughs. We have people there to do it. I think we have to communicate it. We have to relax up there, communicate it and do our job. We didn't do it cohesively. What's most frustrating is we did throughout the week, and then all of a sudden we go to the game, all that breaks down and we play frantic."
Q: Was Garrett Shrader just not a good fit for your offense? What made him a worse fit than K.J. Costello and Will Rogers?
ML: "They outperformed him. We felt like he'd make a great tight end. I still think that. He's got other interests. Like I say, we wish him the best. I don't really have any comments on him. I mean, we wish him the best. If he decides he wants to be a quarterback, I hope that works out for him."
Q: What is something that you as the head coach can do to bridge the gap between good practice and performance on the field?
ML: "You have to just keep coaching them. It starts out, can you understand it in a meeting? Can you draw it on the board? Can you do it when you walk through? Then can you do it in practice against scouts? And then can you do it during the game? We just haven't taken that other step."
Q: How much did it help Will Rogers to be familiar with the offense coming out of high school?
ML: "It's difficult to say. I think he's ahead of schedule for a freshman that's just gotten here. I don't think there's any question about that. I did think he performed efficiently. One thing is he keeps things simple and doesn't try to make too much happen. I hope he continues down that path."
Q: Do you tailor an offense around what you have or what's your philosophy when you take over a new program?
ML: "We've got an awful lot of people that haven't played. There isn't a lot that's been tailored around them specifically in an awful lot of cases. Learning something new, that's always a challenge. I think we have two major challenges, teaching something new and then also elevating the experience of some of the guys we have. The easiest way is to get older. The trouble is, we don't have time to get older. So as coaches, we need to be as specific and clear as we possibly can in order to get the best performance out of these guys that we can."
Q: What's the general mood at practice?
ML: "We seem pretty good. The biggest thing is to eliminate all distractions, stick together and work hard. We've been doing that. We've got quite a few that are really excited about the fact that finally it's the time in their career to start. So there's a natural excitement around that. They're excited about it, but we're still working towards the results to get even more excited about. Right now we don't have those kinds of results. We aren't consistently cohesive out there."
Q: Were you able to see drastic improvements in other seasons when your offense has struggled early?
ML: "No, I think we'll improve. I think we have improved, but those other teams have improved as well. I think that we'll continue to improve. Where that takes us, I'm not sure. All anybody has is their best. As coaches, we've got to coach our very best. As players we have to play our very best, and really it's as simple as that. If we all do that, then we'll keep improving. And if we continue to improve, then we'll get better from one practice to the next, one play to the next, one year to the next and so it goes. That's all we really have control over is ourselves and being the best. If you want to improve the team as the coach or a player, improve yourself. That's what I think we all need to do."
Q: How do you feel like your first recruiting class is shaping up?
ML: "Hard to say. I think there's a lot of recruiting to go. It's a unique circumstance with the rules on visiting and that type of thing being what they are. We've got to keep plugging away. I think the best is probably ahead. I don't know what's going to happen with the rules, the visits and all the rest with recruiting and with regard to contact. That's the most powerful thing you have is recruiting is contacts and visits. The strongest resource you have, we don't have right now. Our guys have worked together hard on the recruiting effort. We definitely need to have some good recruits in here."
Q: What do you look at specifically when recruiting players?
ML: "You look at the talent and the measurables. I ignore all the charts. Typically I'm not even aware of them unless someone tells me. We look at their talent base. We look at what they can do within the scheme that they're asked to do and how we project them in what we're going to ask them to do. The other thing that I think is often overlooked is toughness and their commitment to playing football. Just because a guy is really talented, toughness and commitment to being a good football player is important. And I think it's really undervalued too."
Q: How does the experience of taking over this program differ from you taking over different programs?
ML: "Generally it's typical. The biggest difference would be all the distractions with regards to lack of spring, the diminished off season and the stop and start as far as what we're able to do and really communicating and getting to know a team, identifying who can do what and all those things. Anytime you're trying to execute something, you have to choreograph, in football, 11 guys. That's where it gets tough because it requires a number of reps. That's the thing. It's always been tough when you start and there's always a core that'll buy in, develop and grow into great players. There's a certain number that don't. Generally speaking we wish them the best and go on and get guys that buy into what we're going to do."
Below are the quotes from Leach's press conference.
Head Coach Mike Leach - Oct. 20, 2020
Q: What is the first thing for you to get cleaned up before you prepare for Alabama?
ML: "We have to be as sharp fundamentally as we can. Really focus on fundamentals and details. Some of those things have been exposed, that we're not as sharp as we need to be. That's the thing, it's just complete work. The better we are with those details, the more consistent we have a chance to be."
Q: Is there an update on Kylin Hill's status with the team?
ML: "No there's no update. He's still unavailable, dealing with personal issues."
Q: What's the process going to be like for you between K.J. Costello and Will Rogers? Are they going to split reps? What do you want to see out of them to win that job?
ML: "They'll split reps and we'll see who moves the offense the best."
Q: Were you able to see the protestors running onto the field during the game and what was your reaction?
ML: "I didn't see much of it. I don't know what was being protested. I didn't know it was even a protest. I don't know much about it. Maybe you can elaborate on it. I hadn't thought about it until just now. I did see some action out there between quarters or something, but I was preoccupied."
Q: What were the conversations like with Garrett Shrader around putting his name in the transfer portal? Did you have any kind of message for him before he entered the portal?
ML: "No, not really. I think Garrett wants to play quarterback. We wish him the best. He was a good teammate, and we enjoyed having him."
Q: After you reviewed the film, what jumped out to you both good and bad?
ML: "The good was I thought we played hard, but we were again inconsistent and sloppy. Texas A&M is a very experienced team, and they played like they were an experienced team. We have some inexperience, and we played like that too. It was a fairly close game until the end. We had a chance to win it, and we squandered some opportunities. No question about that. We have to sure that up and sharpen it up."
Q: How do you break down the struggles up front concerning the offensive line?
ML: "We did a couple things. One, we missed assignments. We missed way too many assignments. I think we've got to communicate better. I think this week is definitely important for us to do that. We have to sharpen our communication. I think there's way too much indecision and lack of communication with that group, or there was last game. We've had straight up run throughs. We have people there to do it. I think we have to communicate it. We have to relax up there, communicate it and do our job. We didn't do it cohesively. What's most frustrating is we did throughout the week, and then all of a sudden we go to the game, all that breaks down and we play frantic."
Q: Was Garrett Shrader just not a good fit for your offense? What made him a worse fit than K.J. Costello and Will Rogers?
ML: "They outperformed him. We felt like he'd make a great tight end. I still think that. He's got other interests. Like I say, we wish him the best. I don't really have any comments on him. I mean, we wish him the best. If he decides he wants to be a quarterback, I hope that works out for him."
Q: What is something that you as the head coach can do to bridge the gap between good practice and performance on the field?
ML: "You have to just keep coaching them. It starts out, can you understand it in a meeting? Can you draw it on the board? Can you do it when you walk through? Then can you do it in practice against scouts? And then can you do it during the game? We just haven't taken that other step."
Q: How much did it help Will Rogers to be familiar with the offense coming out of high school?
ML: "It's difficult to say. I think he's ahead of schedule for a freshman that's just gotten here. I don't think there's any question about that. I did think he performed efficiently. One thing is he keeps things simple and doesn't try to make too much happen. I hope he continues down that path."
Q: Do you tailor an offense around what you have or what's your philosophy when you take over a new program?
ML: "We've got an awful lot of people that haven't played. There isn't a lot that's been tailored around them specifically in an awful lot of cases. Learning something new, that's always a challenge. I think we have two major challenges, teaching something new and then also elevating the experience of some of the guys we have. The easiest way is to get older. The trouble is, we don't have time to get older. So as coaches, we need to be as specific and clear as we possibly can in order to get the best performance out of these guys that we can."
Q: What's the general mood at practice?
ML: "We seem pretty good. The biggest thing is to eliminate all distractions, stick together and work hard. We've been doing that. We've got quite a few that are really excited about the fact that finally it's the time in their career to start. So there's a natural excitement around that. They're excited about it, but we're still working towards the results to get even more excited about. Right now we don't have those kinds of results. We aren't consistently cohesive out there."
Q: Were you able to see drastic improvements in other seasons when your offense has struggled early?
ML: "No, I think we'll improve. I think we have improved, but those other teams have improved as well. I think that we'll continue to improve. Where that takes us, I'm not sure. All anybody has is their best. As coaches, we've got to coach our very best. As players we have to play our very best, and really it's as simple as that. If we all do that, then we'll keep improving. And if we continue to improve, then we'll get better from one practice to the next, one play to the next, one year to the next and so it goes. That's all we really have control over is ourselves and being the best. If you want to improve the team as the coach or a player, improve yourself. That's what I think we all need to do."
Q: How do you feel like your first recruiting class is shaping up?
ML: "Hard to say. I think there's a lot of recruiting to go. It's a unique circumstance with the rules on visiting and that type of thing being what they are. We've got to keep plugging away. I think the best is probably ahead. I don't know what's going to happen with the rules, the visits and all the rest with recruiting and with regard to contact. That's the most powerful thing you have is recruiting is contacts and visits. The strongest resource you have, we don't have right now. Our guys have worked together hard on the recruiting effort. We definitely need to have some good recruits in here."
Q: What do you look at specifically when recruiting players?
ML: "You look at the talent and the measurables. I ignore all the charts. Typically I'm not even aware of them unless someone tells me. We look at their talent base. We look at what they can do within the scheme that they're asked to do and how we project them in what we're going to ask them to do. The other thing that I think is often overlooked is toughness and their commitment to playing football. Just because a guy is really talented, toughness and commitment to being a good football player is important. And I think it's really undervalued too."
Q: How does the experience of taking over this program differ from you taking over different programs?
ML: "Generally it's typical. The biggest difference would be all the distractions with regards to lack of spring, the diminished off season and the stop and start as far as what we're able to do and really communicating and getting to know a team, identifying who can do what and all those things. Anytime you're trying to execute something, you have to choreograph, in football, 11 guys. That's where it gets tough because it requires a number of reps. That's the thing. It's always been tough when you start and there's always a core that'll buy in, develop and grow into great players. There's a certain number that don't. Generally speaking we wish them the best and go on and get guys that buy into what we're going to do."
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