The college football world suffered a gigantic loss earlier this week when Mike Leach, the ultra-innovative head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, passed away at 61 after a heart attack. There have been numerous tributes to Leach since his death, one of which came from Gardner Minshew, the backup quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles who blossomed into a star signal caller in Leach’s pass-happy air raid system at Washington State.
An emotional Gardner Minshew talks about the impact Coach Mike Leach had on his career and his life. pic.twitter.com/r8RSLtIVrZ
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) December 15, 2022
“And he always made me believe that, and made me feel that I was special, and that I could succeed,” Minshew said. “And man, that means so much to me and I’ll always be grateful for him for that.”
Minshew went on to say that transferring to Wazzu to play under Leach is the reason he is in his current position.
“I’d be coaching right now, getting my ass ripped by Nick Saban probably twice a day,” Minshew said. “So I’ll tell ya, couldn’t be more in debt to him and the impact he’s had on my life, my family’s life. Really just can’t put into words just how grateful I am for him.”
Minshew had quite the path to playing under Leach, starting his collegiate career at Troy before going to Northwest Mississippi Community College and, eventually, East Carolina. He headed to Pullman as a graduate transfer in 2018 and earned the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year award during his one year with the team, completing 70.7 percent of his passes for 4,776 yards, 38 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. The Cougars finished the season 11-2 and ranked No. 10 in the country before Minshew became a sixth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
