Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Leaping Forward Under Leach
August 05, 2021 | Football, Joel Coleman
As camp begins, Mike Leach once again looking to develop his second-year magic.
STARKVILLE – Consistent. It's defined by Merriam-Webster as being marked by harmony, regularity or steady continuity.
If you're ever looking for a possible synonym, how about just using Leach; as in Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach? He's a man whose career has been defined by steadiness.
It's Leach's reliable track record that's part of the reason Mississippi State is beaming with optimism as training camp for the 2021 football season starts on Friday. The Bulldogs head to the practice fields knowing they come into this year's campaign possibly primed for a breakthrough.
Leach and the Air Raid offense he is known for thrives with familiarity, and while MSU had to learn the scheme on the job to an extent a season ago, Leach is confident his style can take flight in Starkville, just as it always has at his other stops.
"I think there's a reason that the NFL is adopting so many Air Raid concepts and that the last, probably 10 Super Bowls, there's been a super number of Air Raid concepts in all of them," Leach said. "In my mind, it's an efficient way to move the football because you utilize personnel and utilize the space that you're provided. I think it's a good way to do things."
About two decades of head coaching have proven Leach to be right. Leach's offense has spearheaded a career that has seen him guide teams to 17 bowl games and lead quarterbacks he's mentored to 11 of the 50 most productive passing yardage seasons in FBS history.
Here's maybe the most exciting part for the Bulldogs and their fans as practices heat up and the countdown to kickoff starts. It was Leach's second year in his coaching stints at both Texas Tech and Washington State where things really, truly started to come together for his offense.
Year one of the MSU version of the Air Raid was a work in progress. Such is life when you're trying to install an offense with a brand new coaching staff, all in the middle of a worldwide pandemic that wipes out spring practice and delays the start of a season.
"Certainly as coaches and players [routine] is incredibly important to us," Leach said. "Because football, really good football, it's a byproduct of routine and when you break up the routine, I think it's difficult."
Don't forget, too, that Leach and the Bulldogs relied so heavily on true freshmen. The kids certainly had their moments as first-year youngsters accounted for 14 of State's 29 touchdowns in 2020, but they were growing. They were maturing. It was apparent, for as good as they were, the best was yet to come.
So for Mississippi State, 2021 has the potential to offer the perfect storm. There's a squad that's a year older and more experienced. Then there's the veteran pirate leading them that has proven his Air Raid's wings can really start to soar in his second go-around with a team. The proof of that is in the numbers.
In Leach's first year at Texas Tech in 2000, the Red Raiders averaged 362.6 yards per game of offense. They passed for 295.7 per game and rushed for 66.9 per contest. The team tallied 25.4 points each outing.
Now fast forward a year. In 2001, Texas Tech took huge leaps across the board offensively. The Red Raiders tallied nearly 60 more yards per game on average, seeing more than a 40-yard increase in passing yardage per game, as well as a 15-yard bump in rushing yardage per game. In the category that counts the most, Texas Tech averaged over eight more points each time out in 2001 as opposed to the year prior.
When Leach went to Washington State prior to the 2012 season, his first two years mimicked his time down in the Lone Star State.
From 2012 to 2013, the Cougars made huge leaps. In a year's time, they increased their total offensive output by nearly 62 yards per game. The passing yardage surged more than 40 yards per game, while the rushing yardage nearly doubled. And once again, in that all-important scoring category, Leach's 2013 group scored over 10 points per game more than the previous year.
The logical question is of course, can Leach repeat his second-year magic in Starkville? Perhaps the better question is, why can't he?
Mississippi State set 21 single-season passing and receiving records last year. The running game improved as the season wore on. Just about the entire cast of characters that did all that are now back with a year's worth of hands-on Air Raid experience.
The Bulldogs started to really click in the second half of last season. They topped Vanderbilt, went blow-for-blow with No. 13 Georgia, rolled past Missouri in dominating fashion and won the Armed Forces Bowl over nationally-ranked Tulsa. Momentum was growing. It carried into the spring. It's still felt presently as a new campaign dawns.
It's the Bulldogs' task to try and keep it all rolling starting now. But even with the consistent Leach calling the shots, nothing is a given. Progress must be earned. No one is taking anything for granted.
"You're always trying to improve," Leach said.
So training camp commences. Let the improving begin.
Â
If you're ever looking for a possible synonym, how about just using Leach; as in Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach? He's a man whose career has been defined by steadiness.
It's Leach's reliable track record that's part of the reason Mississippi State is beaming with optimism as training camp for the 2021 football season starts on Friday. The Bulldogs head to the practice fields knowing they come into this year's campaign possibly primed for a breakthrough.
Leach and the Air Raid offense he is known for thrives with familiarity, and while MSU had to learn the scheme on the job to an extent a season ago, Leach is confident his style can take flight in Starkville, just as it always has at his other stops.
"I think there's a reason that the NFL is adopting so many Air Raid concepts and that the last, probably 10 Super Bowls, there's been a super number of Air Raid concepts in all of them," Leach said. "In my mind, it's an efficient way to move the football because you utilize personnel and utilize the space that you're provided. I think it's a good way to do things."
About two decades of head coaching have proven Leach to be right. Leach's offense has spearheaded a career that has seen him guide teams to 17 bowl games and lead quarterbacks he's mentored to 11 of the 50 most productive passing yardage seasons in FBS history.
Here's maybe the most exciting part for the Bulldogs and their fans as practices heat up and the countdown to kickoff starts. It was Leach's second year in his coaching stints at both Texas Tech and Washington State where things really, truly started to come together for his offense.
Year one of the MSU version of the Air Raid was a work in progress. Such is life when you're trying to install an offense with a brand new coaching staff, all in the middle of a worldwide pandemic that wipes out spring practice and delays the start of a season.
"Certainly as coaches and players [routine] is incredibly important to us," Leach said. "Because football, really good football, it's a byproduct of routine and when you break up the routine, I think it's difficult."
Don't forget, too, that Leach and the Bulldogs relied so heavily on true freshmen. The kids certainly had their moments as first-year youngsters accounted for 14 of State's 29 touchdowns in 2020, but they were growing. They were maturing. It was apparent, for as good as they were, the best was yet to come.
So for Mississippi State, 2021 has the potential to offer the perfect storm. There's a squad that's a year older and more experienced. Then there's the veteran pirate leading them that has proven his Air Raid's wings can really start to soar in his second go-around with a team. The proof of that is in the numbers.
In Leach's first year at Texas Tech in 2000, the Red Raiders averaged 362.6 yards per game of offense. They passed for 295.7 per game and rushed for 66.9 per contest. The team tallied 25.4 points each outing.
Now fast forward a year. In 2001, Texas Tech took huge leaps across the board offensively. The Red Raiders tallied nearly 60 more yards per game on average, seeing more than a 40-yard increase in passing yardage per game, as well as a 15-yard bump in rushing yardage per game. In the category that counts the most, Texas Tech averaged over eight more points each time out in 2001 as opposed to the year prior.
When Leach went to Washington State prior to the 2012 season, his first two years mimicked his time down in the Lone Star State.
From 2012 to 2013, the Cougars made huge leaps. In a year's time, they increased their total offensive output by nearly 62 yards per game. The passing yardage surged more than 40 yards per game, while the rushing yardage nearly doubled. And once again, in that all-important scoring category, Leach's 2013 group scored over 10 points per game more than the previous year.
The logical question is of course, can Leach repeat his second-year magic in Starkville? Perhaps the better question is, why can't he?
Mississippi State set 21 single-season passing and receiving records last year. The running game improved as the season wore on. Just about the entire cast of characters that did all that are now back with a year's worth of hands-on Air Raid experience.
The Bulldogs started to really click in the second half of last season. They topped Vanderbilt, went blow-for-blow with No. 13 Georgia, rolled past Missouri in dominating fashion and won the Armed Forces Bowl over nationally-ranked Tulsa. Momentum was growing. It carried into the spring. It's still felt presently as a new campaign dawns.
It's the Bulldogs' task to try and keep it all rolling starting now. But even with the consistent Leach calling the shots, nothing is a given. Progress must be earned. No one is taking anything for granted.
"You're always trying to improve," Leach said.
So training camp commences. Let the improving begin.
Â
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