Watch: What's Mike Leach's Hidden Talent? Volleyball.
Mike Leach is well-known for his abilities in relation to football, but it turns out that the Mississippi State head football coach has a hidden talent up his sleeve: volleyball.
On Monday, Leach took a few minutes to stop by and speak to the MSU Volleyball team at their practice. They surprised him with some of his favorite Halloween candy-- Haribo gummy bears, Nerds Clusters, Almond Joys, and Sprees in a box-- before Leach took a moment to shock them in return as he picked up a volleyball and showed them his skills.
Let's face it, Leach is not able to be a college volleyball player. Obviously, the main reason why he can't is that he is simply too busy coaching to make all of the practices.
However, he did have his moment of glory when he had the chance to demonstrate his talents to the entire volleyball team. All of the players stepped aside to let Leach have the entire court to himself. They knew he meant business when he grabbed the nearest volleyball and kicked off his flip-flops. Standing barefoot on the floor, Leach tossed the ball into the air and took a big swing at it with his right hand. It went sailing over the net, and everyone broke out into a wild celebration.
Leach remained humble amid the cheers as he put his shoes back on and waved to the players. Despite his impressive demonstration, Leach was sadly not given a permanent spot on the team.
Even without Leach leading the way, MSU's volleyball team is having a remarkable season and sits at second place in the Southeastern Conference. They are 17-5 on the year, including 8-2 in SEC play, under head coach Julie Darty Dennis.
The Bulldogs have made a complete turnaround over a very short period of time: they finished the 2020 season with a 5-15 record. In fact, the last time the team had a winning record was in 2015 when they finished 17-15, and they have not had a better season this century.
Mississippi State will look to claim their sixth victory in a row when they face Alabama next Wednesday night in Starkville. Although Leach will likely not be able to be there, the spirit and determination of their unofficial teammate will propel the volleyball team to success.
