Greatly appreciate your insight, analysis, and willingness to share with fellow Gopherhole members wsufan99. It's been fun following your team the last 2 seasons. I look forward to Monday evenings watching the YouTube Channel of Cougar Athletics' pressers with Coach Leach and Players. I really like the way they end those with a "Student Question" and appreciate Coach Leach's approach to answering any and all questions. Your assessment of him is spot on.....particularly in regards to the running game approach as shuffle passes / swing passes to the backs are runs in his offensive philosophy. Some questions for you:
1. Who is the journalist (I think female writer out of Seattle?) that calls in weekly to the press conferences?
2. Is Buddy Levy, "Geronimo" book co-author with Leach, a supporter / fanof football? That book is outstanding, by the way.
3. If you've been to practices, does Coach still have his kids do "rollers"?
4. Wasn't Falk a walk on when he took over for C. Halladay?
Thanks again for sharing!
Buck
Love the Buck photo by the way. Ok before I go on, some info about me. I am the son of a coach, a very good former HS coach in Washington that won a couple of state titles and who learned his craft at the ultimate HS football power in the 50 and 60's here. This HS produced Price, Lambright and Erickson in a 5 year span. In order, he coached one's pop Warner team, is best friends with one, and the last one's dad was his offensive coordinator and drove my grandmother to church after my grandfather died. I lived on the sidelines and road the team buses form the time I could walk, I know football. When I was in school I played for my dad in the big school league in central Washington. It is like west texas in a way, nothing to do on a Friday, but go to the game. They have huge stadiums especially in the towns of Pasco, Richland and Kennewick. They are all 5 miles from each other and have stadiums that seat between 10 and 12,000 and are packed every week. The kennewick school won the state title 2 days ago, out of like 43 state playoffs years a school from this league as played or won it about 15 times. Lastly played against Drew Bledsoe 4 times, that was enough, he was that good.
1) yes she is from Seattle, but the damn paper makes you pay for articles. She came to the beat last year and has done a really good job. The Spokane paper is your best bet for anything WSU. They have a sportslink that is free.
2) Levy approached Leach about a book prior to his coming to WSU, little did he know that when he was hired at WSU he was a professor there. Worked out well.
3) yes been to practices. When Leach was hired my dad wanted to go see one as we both read his book and wanted to see one first hand, the old coach was stoked. Yes he rolls them, OMG not so much anymore but when he got there yep. My dad's first job out of basically HS when he was 18 was an assistant coach at an all boys catholic school while going to college in Eastern Washington. When rolled the offensive line after the WSU practice that day and my dad stood there and was just blown away. He started coaching in the days when giving water to the players was considered being soft and just basically doing anything they wanted to the kids at practice as their parents did not care as long as they came home to work on the hop farms after school. The lineman came off with tomato faces and those rubber pebbles everywhere from the turf. We walked to the car to go back to our motel for the night and he just looked and me and said, "we did some nasty stuff to kids back in 1962, but that was by far the most hard ass practice I have ever watched college kids go through"
4) Nope Halliday was a Junior when Falk showed up. Crazy thing happend with Falk. WSU had a commit from a 4 star stud with offers from everyone. He got cold feet before signing day and Leach and crew went out to find the best walk on they could as a back up. Well they both came. If you don't know the Falk story it is insane, kid had a FSU offer before the whole thing went south. Spring ball came in 2014 and Falk just destroyed the 4 star kid and he transferred out in July. Haliday broke his leg vs SC and Falk has been the guy since. Haliday was all about himself, would not check to a run ever. Look at the Cal game in 2014 tossed for 735 even told Leach he was gonna break the record that day. Falk is why WSU has the best record in the PAC 12 the last 2 seasons, just beyond unselfish. Does not care about stats just wants to win.
