Washington State football: Mike Leach’s presser 10/29, improvement

Washington State football head coach Mike Leach held his weekly press conference on Monday. Here are a few things we learned.

Washington State football coach Mike Leach held his usual Monday morning press conference. Saturday’s win at Stanford put the Cougs atop the PAC-12 North Division. This week, the media seemed more interested in Leach’s thoughts about the main event, rather than the sideshow. Here are some of the things we learned.

Ingredients of team confidence

Immediately after the Cougars win Saturday night, Gardner Minshew was interviewed on the field by the PAC-12 Network. The quarterback talked about his team’s confidence and their belief in each other. Leach was asked about his team’s confidence. He said they were confident, but that was a result of other factors.

The first term he used was synchronized. He followed that with words like respect and unity. His team has become more confident as they have gotten to know each other better. Getting back to Minshew’s comments about confidence on Saturday, he specifically mentioned that his teammates weren’t going to quit on each other when they fell behind. Monday, Leach did a good of explaining how the Cougars confidence has developed over time.

Though this wasn’t part of the confidence question, I think this also is an important part of the equation. Leach was asked about previous comments that this is the most coachable team he’s had. He reiterated it and talked about not having to repeat as many things, which allows him to add different aspects to the game plan. Not only hearing the words but experiencing it in practice has to be a huge confidence boost for the Cougar players.