Mississippi State Athletics
Football
Joel Coleman, Senior Writer
Mike Leach looks his guys in the eyes before every game.
STARKVILLE – Richard J. Daley – a former mayor of Chicago – once said that if a man’s handshake is no good, all the legal paper in the world won’t make it good.
Handshakes can mean a multitude of things. They can say hello. They can signify an agreement. They can seal a deal.
In the case of Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach, he uses a handshake as an evaluation tool.
Moments before the Bulldogs hit the field each Saturday, Leach has a routine. He goes around to every single player on the team and shakes their hand. Every Dawg gets a brief meeting with their head coach before they compete.
“I just try to read and see if they’re ready to go,” Leach said of the practice. “I see if they’re locked in and ready to go and focused on going out and playing to the best of their ability.”
Leach is known for his Air Raid offense, so he’s logically oftentimes tied to his quarterbacks, receivers and the like. But for these handshakes, it doesn’t matter what position you play. Offensive guys, defensive guys and special teams guys all are getting a one-on-one gameday visit with Leach.
“I think that’s just his way of saying, ‘Come on guys. We need you,” linebacker Nathaniel Watson said. “He shakes everybody’s hands. It helps to get the whole locker room together as one.”
This isn’t some recent development for Leach. He’s…
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