Photo by: Kevin Snyder/MSU Athletics
Leach Talks Football, Fashion And More
July 20, 2022 | Football
ATLANTA - Mike Leach isn't much for opening statements.
The Mississippi State head coach kicked off his third SEC Media Days by immediately opening the floor for questions on Tuesday afternoon at the College Football Hall of Fame.
"I hate opening statements," Leach said. "I really don't see the point of it. So as opposed to me sitting there and thinking of some flowery opening statement - which I've done before - and then at the end of the opening statement a number of people ask questions that have already been addressed in my opening statement, I decided we'd just sort of cut out the middleman. You go ahead and ask the questions, and I'll go ahead and answer 'em."
Leach, accompanied by wide receiver Austin Williams, defensive tackle Jaden Crumedy and linebacker Nathaniel Watson, fielded questions for more than six hours in what many consider the unofficial kickoff to the 2022 campaign.
MSU returns one of the league's most experienced rosters including Will Rogers, who has been the starting quarterback in 19 straight games since his true freshman season in 2020.
"He wasn't afraid to be the quarterback, to walk in and lead the locker room as a true freshman," Leach said. "That takes a certain amount of courage to do that. Sometimes quarterbacks have stage fright for a year, year and a half. He wasn't afraid to step in."
Rogers led the nation with a 73.9 completion percentage last year and also topped the conference averaging 364.5 passing yards per game. The rising junior from Brandon also threw for 4,739 yards, the third-most in SEC history.
State must replace both of its starters at offensive tackle from last season, including first round draft pick Charles Cross. Percy Lewis - the No. 2 junior college prospect in the country - arrived in January and is bidding for the vacancy left by Cross at left tackle. Redshirt senior Kwatrivous Johnson, who has 23 games of experience including 11 career starts, exited the spring as the front runner at right tackle.
"Dolla Bill (Johnson) and Percy played well in the spring and think they'll both continue to get better." Leach said. "We've got some guys that are a year older and more experienced and I think we have a little more depth than we've had (along the offensive line)."
CONTRACT EXTENSION
Leach recently agreed to a two-year contract extension through the 2025 campaign that increased his annual salary from $5 million to $5.5 million.
Leach has guided the Bulldogs to a bowl game in each of his first two seasons and posted three victories over opponents that finished the 2021 season ranked in the top 25, the first State coach during the modern era to do so.
"I'm very grateful to the administration – John (Cohen) and Dr. (Mark) Keenum – to have me," Leach said. "I appreciate all of their efforts and everyone that contributed to it."
FASHION STATEMENT
While some coaches view SEC Media Days as a way to show off their eclectic sense of style, Leach subscribes to another philosophy entirely – being comfortable.
Leach wore a light blue button up dress shirt, navy blazer, maroon tie, khaki pants, white tube socks and black Adidas tennis shoes with his name inscribed on the back. He carried around a cup of hot coffee much of the day while also having a bottle of water tucked away in his jacket pocket.
"I didn't want to look like I was going to prom," Leach told ESPN/ SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic on Sirius/ XM Radio.
Leach continued breaking down his SEC Media Day attire and why his pants and sport coat were not part of a matching suit.
"Khakis are the superior dress pant," Leach said. "They're made of 100-percent cotton."
And that tie, let's just say that Leach is not a fan.
"Ties are utterly pointless," Leach said. "Whoever made the tie is an idiot."
According to Leach, the only useful thing a tie provides is something to wipe your mouth on if there isn't a napkin handy.
Leach did, however, make a concession with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey that wearing a tie is better than a powdered wig, which was adorned by early colonials in the United States.
Leach was later asked if there were any fashion trends from days past that he would like to see come back in style.
Perhaps suits of armor? "Too heavy" Leach said.
Leach, author of the self-published and New York Times best-selling book "Swing Your Sword" settled on the idea of wearing a saber on his side.
"Barefoot wouldn't be the worst idea either," Leach said.
COACHING INTERACTION
SEC Summer Meetings in Destin, Florida and sidelines across the Southeast during the fall aren't the only places SEC football coaches converse.
With as many as four coaches crossing paths per day during the organized chaos that is SEC Media Days, there are usually multiple opportunities for coaches to interact with one another in passing.
Leach enjoyed a light-hearted conversation in passing with Alabama's Nick Saban on Tuesday morning.
The Crimson Tide head coach asked Leach how he was doing, to which Leach replied "I'm doing just like the rest of us, just trying to get a first down. You can make that happen right?"
Saban smiled and said "You know me better than that."
Leach also shared moments with former head coaches David Cutcliffe and Rick Neuheisel as well. Cutcliffe, who now serves as the SEC's special assistant to the commissioner for football relations, complimented him on his opening statement and called him "the smartest man in college football".
STRANGE QUESTIONS
The barrage of questions from reporters ranged from potential conference realignment and to downright bizarre inquiries.
Some of the strangest questions asked to Leach at SEC Media Days include:
"We just want to win one game a week."
"I actually wish we still had drop kicks."
"Austin Williams probably has two degrees more than any of us in here."
"Football has always been a game of execution. There's not a lot of Roadrunner/Wiley Coyote, who you ambush, fool the other guy, then you walk away laughing like Muttley after the rock fell on the guy or something like that. It's always been a game of execution."
"Just plowing through" When asked how he was feeling as he neared the midway point of SEC Media Day.
"As a grandparent, I try to give my grandkids things that make a lot of noise."
MORE FUN FACTS
Leach has visited both Panama and Columbia this summer.
Leach shocked the crew of Crain and Co. when he knew that the chicken tender chain Zaxby's was founded in Statesboro, Georgia.
Leach participated in the Fourth of July parade in his hometown of Cody, Wyoming alongside "Yellowstone" actor Cole Hauser, who plays the character Rip Wheeler.
The Mississippi State head coach kicked off his third SEC Media Days by immediately opening the floor for questions on Tuesday afternoon at the College Football Hall of Fame.
"I hate opening statements," Leach said. "I really don't see the point of it. So as opposed to me sitting there and thinking of some flowery opening statement - which I've done before - and then at the end of the opening statement a number of people ask questions that have already been addressed in my opening statement, I decided we'd just sort of cut out the middleman. You go ahead and ask the questions, and I'll go ahead and answer 'em."
Leach, accompanied by wide receiver Austin Williams, defensive tackle Jaden Crumedy and linebacker Nathaniel Watson, fielded questions for more than six hours in what many consider the unofficial kickoff to the 2022 campaign.
MSU returns one of the league's most experienced rosters including Will Rogers, who has been the starting quarterback in 19 straight games since his true freshman season in 2020.
"He wasn't afraid to be the quarterback, to walk in and lead the locker room as a true freshman," Leach said. "That takes a certain amount of courage to do that. Sometimes quarterbacks have stage fright for a year, year and a half. He wasn't afraid to step in."
Rogers led the nation with a 73.9 completion percentage last year and also topped the conference averaging 364.5 passing yards per game. The rising junior from Brandon also threw for 4,739 yards, the third-most in SEC history.
State must replace both of its starters at offensive tackle from last season, including first round draft pick Charles Cross. Percy Lewis - the No. 2 junior college prospect in the country - arrived in January and is bidding for the vacancy left by Cross at left tackle. Redshirt senior Kwatrivous Johnson, who has 23 games of experience including 11 career starts, exited the spring as the front runner at right tackle.
"Dolla Bill (Johnson) and Percy played well in the spring and think they'll both continue to get better." Leach said. "We've got some guys that are a year older and more experienced and I think we have a little more depth than we've had (along the offensive line)."
CONTRACT EXTENSION
Leach recently agreed to a two-year contract extension through the 2025 campaign that increased his annual salary from $5 million to $5.5 million.
Leach has guided the Bulldogs to a bowl game in each of his first two seasons and posted three victories over opponents that finished the 2021 season ranked in the top 25, the first State coach during the modern era to do so.
"I'm very grateful to the administration – John (Cohen) and Dr. (Mark) Keenum – to have me," Leach said. "I appreciate all of their efforts and everyone that contributed to it."
FASHION STATEMENT
While some coaches view SEC Media Days as a way to show off their eclectic sense of style, Leach subscribes to another philosophy entirely – being comfortable.
Leach wore a light blue button up dress shirt, navy blazer, maroon tie, khaki pants, white tube socks and black Adidas tennis shoes with his name inscribed on the back. He carried around a cup of hot coffee much of the day while also having a bottle of water tucked away in his jacket pocket.
"I didn't want to look like I was going to prom," Leach told ESPN/ SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic on Sirius/ XM Radio.
Leach continued breaking down his SEC Media Day attire and why his pants and sport coat were not part of a matching suit.
"Khakis are the superior dress pant," Leach said. "They're made of 100-percent cotton."
And that tie, let's just say that Leach is not a fan.
"Ties are utterly pointless," Leach said. "Whoever made the tie is an idiot."
According to Leach, the only useful thing a tie provides is something to wipe your mouth on if there isn't a napkin handy.
Leach did, however, make a concession with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey that wearing a tie is better than a powdered wig, which was adorned by early colonials in the United States.
Leach was later asked if there were any fashion trends from days past that he would like to see come back in style.
Perhaps suits of armor? "Too heavy" Leach said.
Leach, author of the self-published and New York Times best-selling book "Swing Your Sword" settled on the idea of wearing a saber on his side.
"Barefoot wouldn't be the worst idea either," Leach said.
COACHING INTERACTION
SEC Summer Meetings in Destin, Florida and sidelines across the Southeast during the fall aren't the only places SEC football coaches converse.
With as many as four coaches crossing paths per day during the organized chaos that is SEC Media Days, there are usually multiple opportunities for coaches to interact with one another in passing.
Leach enjoyed a light-hearted conversation in passing with Alabama's Nick Saban on Tuesday morning.
The Crimson Tide head coach asked Leach how he was doing, to which Leach replied "I'm doing just like the rest of us, just trying to get a first down. You can make that happen right?"
Saban smiled and said "You know me better than that."
Leach also shared moments with former head coaches David Cutcliffe and Rick Neuheisel as well. Cutcliffe, who now serves as the SEC's special assistant to the commissioner for football relations, complimented him on his opening statement and called him "the smartest man in college football".
STRANGE QUESTIONS
The barrage of questions from reporters ranged from potential conference realignment and to downright bizarre inquiries.
Some of the strangest questions asked to Leach at SEC Media Days include:
- Are you worried robots are going to take over the Earth?
- Who is your favorite "Yellowstone" character? (It's Beth Dutton… "Yellowstone is Dallas and Beth is J.R.")
- Which SEC coach do you think is the best dancer? (South Carolina's Shane Beamer)
- Do you have any Netflix recommendations? (He admittedly hasn't watched Netflix much lately but calls the documentary "Operation Odessa" a hidden gem. He also recommends the TV series "Better Call Saul", "Yellowstone" and "Stranger Things")
- What was your favorite Halloween costume? (The most impressive looking was the grim reaper but says it was hard to move in. His mom once made him a vampire costume as a kid that he later repurposed the cape so he could be Batman.)
- What's an old person thing that you do? (coughs, blows his nose and goes through phases of being a quiet talker for his own amusement.)
- Who are some celebrities you'd like to invite to Thanksgiving dinner? (Geronimo and Winston Churchill. "No deities because that's not fair.")
- What would be your "Top Gun" callsign? (He doesn't have one but "Sparrow" was suggested due to his love of pirates and the name of Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow character in The "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie franchise. He also thinks that "Top Gun: Maverick" was a better movie than the original "Top Gun".)
- Leach was also asked to read song lyrics on TikTok for the Louis Theroux, Duke & Jones single "Jiggle Jiggle".
"We just want to win one game a week."
"I actually wish we still had drop kicks."
"Austin Williams probably has two degrees more than any of us in here."
"Football has always been a game of execution. There's not a lot of Roadrunner/Wiley Coyote, who you ambush, fool the other guy, then you walk away laughing like Muttley after the rock fell on the guy or something like that. It's always been a game of execution."
"Just plowing through" When asked how he was feeling as he neared the midway point of SEC Media Day.
"As a grandparent, I try to give my grandkids things that make a lot of noise."
MORE FUN FACTS
Leach has visited both Panama and Columbia this summer.
Leach shocked the crew of Crain and Co. when he knew that the chicken tender chain Zaxby's was founded in Statesboro, Georgia.
Leach participated in the Fourth of July parade in his hometown of Cody, Wyoming alongside "Yellowstone" actor Cole Hauser, who plays the character Rip Wheeler.
Players Mentioned
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