Gardner Minshew says he’s grateful Mike Leach helped him avoid ‘getting my ass ripped by Nick Saban’
By Keith Farner
Published:
Gardner Minshew gives Mike Leach plenty of credit for propelling his career into the NFL, as the former Washington State quarterback saw his career take off thanks to Leach.
Minshew was among the successful quarterbacks under Leach.
Of the 50 most productive passing yardage seasons in FBS history, 10 came from quarterbacks coached by Leach since his hiring as head coach at Texas Tech in 2000. That included one season by Kliff Kingsbury, one by B.J. Symons (2003), one by Sonny Cumbie, 3 by Graham Harrell (2006-08), one by Connor Halliday, one by Luke Falk (2015), one by Minshew (2018) and one by Anthony Gordon (2019).
Minshew said he wouldn’t be in NFL without Leach: “I’d be coaching right now, getting my ass ripped by Nick Saban probably twice a day. I couldn’t be more indebted to him and the impact he’s had on my life, my family’s life. … Can’t put into words how grateful I am for him.”
Minshew has appeared in 30 NFL games for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles. Many of those came in 2019, when he started 12 games for the Jaguars.
Pray for mike leach!! pic.twitter.com/2TWUTnysay
— Realdealcfb (@Realdealcfb247) December 12, 2022
H/T Zach Berman.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
