Mike Leach Welcomes Oklahoma, Texas, But 'Things Change Quite Dramatically' in SEC
Mike Leach, for one, is glad to see Oklahoma and Texas heading to the SEC.
Leach spoke highly about the Sooners and Longhorns — and their fans — on Tuesday at SEC Media Days in Atlanta, and said the teams themselves won’t have to play catch-up when they leave the Big 12 in 2025.
“I think they're kind of already acclimated from the standpoint good teams play as hard as they can and try to improve their skills along the way,” Leach said during his time at the podium at the College Football Hall of Fame. “So I think they're certainly ready to do that.”
Not that Leach doesn’t think the SEC grind will be more challenging for OU and Texas.
“I think the competition level raised,” he said. “… From their standpoint, I think it's going to change things quite dramatically.”
Leach pointed to another reason having Oklahoma and/or Texas on the schedule might be good for his program.
“From our standpoint, I mean, you guys have us as having the toughest schedule in the country,” he said.
“So that being the case, we can't play everybody. So knock two of those guys off and add OU and Texas, and I probably gained about half a step, I would think.”
Leach was Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator in 1999, and then was head coach at Texas Tech from 2000-09 before taking over at Washington State in 2012 and Mississippi State in 2020.
Another SEC head coach with more recent coaching experience in the Big 12 said he is eager to recruit again in Texas and Oklahoma.
“Know the talent out there,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said. “Understand the dynamics of those programs.”
Beamer was a Lincoln Riley assistant for three years in Norman before taking the Gamecocks job in 2021. At this time last year, Beamer was still taking in his new job when the college football world was rocked.
“I was here last year on day one, had a great time,” he said. “Left — I think it was a Thursday, I was at an Atlanta Braves game with my family — driving back after the game when the news broke about the University of Texas and University of Oklahoma joining this conference. So certainly that was an eventful week.
“That's just another statement about how attractive this league is and the teams and the universities that want to be a part of this conference. Players want to play in this league. You see that in recruiting. Coaches certainly want to coach in this league as well.”
Although their focus is on getting ready for the 2022 season, many coaches are still trying to figure out what’s next in the big-picture world of college football. Last month’s announcement that UCLA and USC are leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten caught everyone by surprise.
“The biggest surprise in college football,” Leach said, “would be if there's no surprises. But I would say that's a pretty big one. These are questions I have:
“The question I have is, one, if the Pac-12 does manage to stick together, how much does it or does it help Cal and Utah get more recruits in Southern California? Then the other is, I've been on long trips like that — UCLA and USC have to take five a year, across two or three time zones. I don't think they're going to play all those games at noon, say. I bet you they play a bunch of them at night. They have to do it five times a year. The rest of the Big Ten has to do it less than one time every other year.
“I’m kind of curious how it will unfold. I'll be here to watch it. Maybe it's such a great idea, everybody will do it.”
The future will arrive eventually. When it does, Leach expects to see plenty of OU and Texas fans invade Starkville.
“Well, I look forward to seeing 'em,” he said. “I thought they were outstanding when I was in Texas. Of course, we played 'em both every year. Look forward to seeing 'em. From my standpoint, it's good to have them back, you know?
“ … I know a lot of Longhorns and I know a lot of Sooners and coached at Oklahoma. I've been a Sooner sympathizer for a while. Look forward to having 'em back.”
