Mike Leach addresses Mississippi State's use of the portal, slams it in the process
Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach, like mostly all current college football coaches, has had some players leave his team and some join his team via the transfer portal. Leach was asked about how the transfer portal has impacted the Bulldogs, giving his thoughts and detailing why players have left their program.
“I don’t see it having been negative, I do think the transfer portal is a very reckless approach in its current condition. Transfer if you want but there ought to be a window and then for the most part we lost either two types of players. The type that one didn’t belong here, or two that were great people that just wanted an opportunity to play more,” Leach said.
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Leach also gave his thoughts on players joining his team through the transfer portal, explaining how despite him preferring to build his teams the traditional way, the value of the transfer portal simply can’t be ignored.
“I’ve been excited about the guys we have and in some cases, we’ll see how they do, but we’ve been excited about the ones that we took, I guess we’ll see how it plays out. I don’t see it as a total problem solver, I think it can’t be ignored as a resource. But I think that you want to build your team around guys that you’ve worked with since they got out of high school that really have an attachment and unity to the program, the university,” Leach said.
Leach did lose his leading receiver from last season Makai Polk, who transferred in from Cal, but will be looking to replace his production from transfer receivers Jordan Mosley and Justin Robinson. Leach also brought in a duo of transfer, 4-star cornerbacks in Marcus Banks and Hunter Washington that could be key contributors in the secondary this season for the Bulldogs as he continues to use a combination of high school recruited and transfer talent.
WATCH: Mike Leach gives weird take on pants during Marty Smith interview
Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach is always good for an entertaining sound bite, and he did not disappoint in a recent SEC Network interview with Marty Smith and Ryan McGee at media days. Smith complimented Leach’s choice of pants for the day, to which Leach responded by going into detail about the material of them, where he got them, and the importance of comfort.
Leach also opened up his SEC media day press conference with no opening statement, getting straight to the point and opening it up for questions. Leach is entering his third year ‘wearing the pants’ for Mississippi State as the leader of their air raid offense that ranked first in the conference last year in total passing yards and passing yards per game. He improved the Bulldogs from a four-win team in his first season to a seven-win team last year, as he’s looking to continue to improve his squad’s record yet again this season.