 |
| Mike Leach |
Cougar Chats, Copyright 2012, Washington State University Athletics. All rights reserved.
Signing Day Central |
2012 Football Season Tickets |
Donate to Cougar Athletics
Chat with Washington State head football coach Mike Leach on signing day, Wednesday, February 1 at Noon PT.
|
 |
| Moderator: Good afternoon Cougars and welcome to today's Signing Day chat with Mike Leach. We have a lot of questions so let's get right to it. |
|
| Ron (Centralia): Coach Leach -was there any particular position group you were targeting with your staff's recent recruiting efforts? |
 |
 |
Mike Leach: Ron, the offense and defensive lines will always be huge priorities for us. I believe that games are won in the trenches and we will always put a huge emphasis on finding quality lineman. |
|
|
| Bob (Kennewick): How happy are you with the progress made so far on Class of 2013 recruits? |
|
|
Mike Leach: Bob, coming into this deal late it was obviously important for us to spend the majority of our time concentrating on finishing out the class of 2012 on a strong note. At the same time we are always looking towards the future and finding quality players regardless of their age. We look forward to getting on the road this spring and finding even more potential Cougs. |
|
|
| Deer Park: Does the star rating system of recruits reflect the ability you see most of the time, half the time or rarely? Describe the exception... GO COUGS! |
|
|
Mike Leach: We are more concerned about the opinions of our coaching staff than that of recruiting services. We are looking for the right kind of player to fit into our system and that may be different than players other schools are looking for. Wes Welker had no stars coming out of high school and his career turned out pretty well. |
|
|
| Jon (Pullman): Coach Leach, I cannot wait until next season! What did you and your coaching staff do to make sure that WSU was the next school for the recruits? |
|
|
Mike Leach: Jon, Washington State University and the city of Pullman are an easy sell to top recruits. The fan base, the administration and their commitment to excellence is very apparent to kids when they step foot on campus. There is a great deal of excitement and passion here at WSU and recruits want to be a part of it. |
|
|
| Jonathan (Boise): When recruiting new candidates to WSU/Pullman, what points or advantages do you emphasize compared with other universities/cities and overall how is that message received. |
|
|
Mike Leach: Jonathan, one of the biggest selling points is that the entire community is interested and involved in WSU Athletics. Our athletic program is one of the biggest attractions in town and that is important to recruits. |
|
|
| John, Helena, MT: Will the 6 route be as successful at Wazzu as at Tech? |
|
|
Mike Leach: John, it was a great play for us at Tech and we kind only hope for the same results at Wazzu. |
|
|
| John Debs (McKinney: Mike....We wish you the Best at Washington State............ |
|
|
Mike Leach: John, it's an honor to be here and me and my staff look forward to getting on the field this spring and finding out more about our team. We can't wait to see you in the fall. |
|
|
| Michael (carnation): How well can you recruite in Texas? How long will it take to get the talent level up to your Texas Tech teams? |
|
|
Mike Leach: Michael, we expect to have a presence in Texas. Recruits grew up watching some of what we did at Texas Tech and there will be many kids from that state who will want to play for us. We will concentrate our recruiting efforts in the states of Washington and California, but we will also look to other places such as Texas to find the best available talent. |
|
|
| Bob (Bellevue): Coach, let's take a break from LOI day ~ who is your favorite super hero? |
|
|
Mike Leach: Spider-man. Because he is less realistic than Superman but more dynamic than Batman. |
|
|
| JC Eustis,Florida: Glad to see you back coaching, Mr Leach. Who do you see as your #1 qb on the depth chart as of now? |
|
|
Mike Leach: We will look at both Tuel and Halliday in the spring. |
|
|
| pete (Spokane): If you were King of NCAA recruiting rules, what would you like to see changed? |
|
|
Mike Leach: Pete, create a playoff system with 16 teams or more. |
|
|
| Joel (Seattle): Coach, how difficult was it to come in so late in the recruiting process and still manage to get some really great student athletes? |
|
|
Mike Leach: Joel, recruiting is always a battle. Our coaches and staff had a tremendous effort and did a great job. But it is hard to accomplish in a month and a half what other teams have had two years to do. |
|
|
| Mike (Puyallup): Did you sleep next to the fax machine this morning? |
|
|
Mike Leach: Mike, several coaches did. Our faxes came from the east coast to American Samoa. |
|
|
| Greg (Kennewick): Coach, who do you like in the Super Bowl ? Pats or G Men |
|
|
Mike Leach: Greg, I think it will be close but the Patriots have a better offense. |
|
|
| Matt(Ephrata): Thank you for your time today Coach Leach. You have shown today that you really do put an emphasis on academics while you recruit. thankyou again |
|
|
Mike Leach: Matt, thank you for the comment. Academics are a huge priority. At Texas Tech we had the highest graduation rate of any public institution for a couple of years. We expect to do the same at Washington State. |
|
|
| Russ (Warden): Coach - How were athletic facilities perceived by recruits? |
|
|
Mike Leach: Russ, pretty good but more importantly Washington State has committed to build a 77,000 square foot football complex that will contain a huge weight room, training room, locker room, meeting room, offices and training table, which we will enjoy in the near future. |
|
|
| Jeff (Vancouver): Coach, what has been the one thing that has surprised you the most since becoming the new coach of the cougs and what do you look forward to most going forward? |
|
|
Mike Leach: Jeff, the most impressive thing has been the teamwork effort which has existed in the athletic department led by our athletic director Bill Moos and President Floyd. I look forward to getting started with our players here and become the best team that we can be. |
|
|
| Taylor Hall (Spokane): Hey Mike. How is the stadium looking? And did your kids enjoy the recent snow that hit the Northwest? |
|
|
Mike Leach: Taylor, the stadium looks good. Seeing that crane move seven days a week is inspiriting to all of us involved in football. My kids are still fired up about the snow. |
|
|
| Mike (Mount Vernon): Which day do you like better? Signing day, the first day of spring ball, or the first day of practice before the season starts? |
|
|
Mike Leach: Mike, fall camp but any days when we are practicing and playing are exciting to me. That's why I got into coaching for. |
|
| Moderator: Okay, time for one more question. |
|
| Kevin (Portland): What was the best book you read last summer? |
|
|
Mike Leach: Kevin, I read a good book on Ernest Hemingway where people gave reflections on his life. I find Hemmingway's own life to be more interesting than his books. I read a book by John Wooden before we put the pads on each year. It does a good job framing your thinking and perspective in regards to coaching and life in general. |
|
| Moderator: Okay, that's all the time we have. Coach Leach thank you for joining us today. |
|
|
Mike Leach: It's always an honor to share Cougar football with all of our Cougar fans, friends and family. Go Cougs! |
|
| Moderator: Sorry we could not get to all of your questions. Nearly 350 were submitted. Thank you all for your questions and for visiting WSUCougars.com. Go Cougs! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
