Mike Leach is known for a lot of things, particularly his quirks and peculiar in-depth analysis on things like which Pac-12 mascots (or coaches) would survive a battle royale.
On the football field, it’s all about his “Air Raid” offense with his aggressive passing attack. In Leach’s 18 seasons as a head coach at Texas Tech and Washington State, his offenses have led the nation in passing 10 times, and every season since 2013, the Cougars have finished ranked in the top five in both total passing yards and passing yards per game.
Despite a disappointing 6-7 2019 season, Washington State is No. 1 with 5,683 passing yards and 437.2 yards per game. (LSU is No. 2 in both categories and seems likely to pass the Cougars in total passing yards in the national championship game Monday.)
But Thursday, news broke that Leach is leaving Washington State for the SEC to take over at Mississippi State after the Bulldogs fired Joe Moorhead last week at the end of his second season.
A lot of people are excited about this news, including new Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin and college football Twitter in general. But Washington State sophomore running back Max Borghi is too, judging by his response to a tweet from Leach.
The 5-foot-10, 197-pound running back from Colorado was Washington State’s leading rusher this season with 817 yards and 11 touchdowns and broke the 100-yard mark four times. But that’s nowhere near some of the most productive players in the FBS.
His total rushing yards barely put him among the top-100 backs in the nation, while his 127 attempts rank 144th. He did, however, finish the season with 86 catches for 597 yards, making him the team’s fourth best receiver.
Obviously, the Cougars don’t have a new head coach yet, and even if Leach’s replacement had a slightly more balanced offensive approach, it’s not like they’re going to abandon the passing game entirely. However, it is a good bet that Borghi will, in fact, rush more.
And he had a great reaction to that probability.
