3. Mike Leach, Mississippi State
‘The Pirate’ is bringing his air-raid attack to Starkville in 2020.
The SEC just added another big personality and the Egg Bowl got a whole lot more interesting with Lane Kiffin and Mike Leach now going head-to-head.
There’s been a lot of excitement surrounding Leach joining an SEC program and getting the full resources of a big-time school. He was very successful at Washington State given the more limited resources and tougher recruiting job compared to an SEC program.
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Leach’s offense may personify “air-raid” the most out of anybody who runs it in college football. His main goal on offense is spreading out the defense as much as possible and making them cover every last yard on the entire field.
The air-raid attack is more than just throwing the deep ball every play. With the defense being so spread out there’s bound to be favorable matchups and guys have an easier ability getting open, not just on deep routes. There’s plenty of short crosses and screen passes completed in this scheme. Leach has been running this offense forever and it’s why his quarterbacks have always been able to put up huge numbers, including Anthony Gordon and Gardner Minshew the last two years.
This year, Leach will have Stanford transfer KJ Costello running his offense. Costello threw for 3,540 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2018 but was hampered with injuries last season. Look for him to put up big numbers this year as most Leach quarterbacks end up doing.
Star running back Kylin Hill is coming back for his senior season after rushing for 1,350 yards and 10 touchdowns. It’ll be interesting to see how Leach is able to incorporate Hill into his pass-heavy scheme. Expect him to have more than the 18 receptions he had last season and less rushing attempts.
The receiving corps will lack experience with three of the four leading guys from last year all graduating.
Like Ole Miss, Mississippi State won’t be competing for an SEC title anytime soon. It’s going to be very interesting to see if Leach’s air-raid system is able to have success in the SEC against better defenses. The Bulldogs have made a bowl the last 10 seasons, Leach is looking to at least not take a step back and continue that streak this season.