Texas Tech Had An Awesome Tribute To Mike Leach Using Cool Formation

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In the 2000s, Mike Leach was synonymous with two things: Texas Tech and the Air Raid offense. The football genius revolutionized the college football world, bringing the pass-happy offense to the forefront.

And, it took the historically average program to the brink of playing for a national title in 2008, as only a loss to Oklahoma kept the Red Raiders out of the biggest game in the sport.

So many influential football people came out of those teams. Guys like Graham Harrell, Kliff Kingsbury, and Sonnie Cumbie are former Tech quarterbacks and now are highly sought-after coaches that espouse the principles of Mike Leach. And, NFL stars like Wes Welker and Michael Crabtree came out of the offense that put Leach into the mainstream.

While he left Texas Tech mired in controversy, “The Pirate” was always beloved by the fans there. And, his impact on Texas high school football was immense. The Leach Air Raid became the preferred scheme for many of the state’s top programs. That was a huge break from the traditional run-happy offenses that dominated Texas high school football for over a decade.

Leach, who served as the head coach at Washington State before moving on to his final stop, Mississippi State, sadly passed away this month after a sudden health emergency.

Tributes poured in from across the football world. But, the coolest one may be what Texas Tech did in their bowl matchup against Ole Miss on Wednesday.

Texas Tech came out in a classic Mike Leach Air Raid formation on their first play in the Texas Bowl

Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense, from which he learned most of the concepts from his mentor Hal Mumme, featured wide splits with receivers stretching the defense horizontally pre-snap.

So, on the first offensive play from scrimmage, Texas Tech first-year head coach Joey McGuire had a great idea to honor Leach with a reenactment of that formation.

Air Raid formation 🏴‍☠️

🤝 @OleMissFB pic.twitter.com/OgPhweXLC4

— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) December 29, 2022

Wow, what an awesome tribute. Though, I wish they would’ve run a play out of it. Give credit to Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss for declining the Delay of Game penalty.