At Big 12 Media Days this week, Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris kept circling back to the same name: Mike Leach.
That’s nothing new. In nearly every conversation about Morris, Leach comes up - sometimes because Morris brings him up, sometimes because someone else does.
The connection runs deep. Leach was the coach who gave Morris his only major scholarship chance as a player at Texas Tech, and later the man who helped launch his coaching career.
Their paths crossed again at Texas Tech and then at Washington State.
“Just such a joy to work with Mike, and obviously, for me to be able to mentor under him,” Morris said this week at Big 12 Media Days. “He took me under his wing, he gave me my only scholarship, he gave me my first full-time job.
He always believed in me. He instilled confidence in me every single day.
“And I think when I was an undersized player coming out, and somebody that needed to overcome some obstacles, he was always somebody that got me to those spots that I needed to be. He knew how to motivate me on so many different levels, both as a coach and a player.
“I would not be sitting here if it wasn't for Mike.”
For Morris, that appreciation isn’t just about what Leach did on the field or in the meeting room. It shows up in the little things, too - like a chair in the offensive staff meeting room at Washington State that stayed behind after Leach left for Mississippi State three years earlier.
When Morris returned to Washington State in 2022 under Jake Dickert, he found himself sitting in that chair.
“I'd sit in his chair in the offensive staff meeting room when I was back as the coordinator there,” Morris said with a smile. “I was sitting in that chair when I found out that he passed, which is super-sentimental to me.
“And then I found out I was getting the North Texas head job when I was sitting in that chair. So a really cool moment.
“He would have been so proud to see my coaching path continue to grow the way it did.”
In Other News...
Why Drew Mestemaker Turned Down More To Bet On Oklahoma State
Drew Mestemaker had plenty of options after putting together a breakout season at North Texas, where he led the nation in passing yards as a redshirt freshman and emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the transfer market. But when Eric Morris left to take over at Oklahoma State, the quarterback followed his former coach to Stillwater, giving the Cowboys a proven arm and a familiar fit as they try to rebuild around a staff that already knows what Mestemaker can do.
Morris and Mestemaker both framed the move as more than a simple transfer decision, with the program selling a bigger vision for what Oklahoma State can become under its new leadership. The part that still hangs over the story is just how hard other schools pushed to keep him from making that leap, which only adds to the sense that this was one of the more consequential quarterback decisions of the offseason. [Read more 🡒]