STARKVILLE — Sawyer Robertson still remembers the game.
Seated at his home in Lubbock, Texas, not far from Jones AT&T Stadium, Robertson watched as a Mike Leach-led Texas Tech squad toe-tapped its way to a last-second upset of No. 1-ranked Texas courtesy of sideline acrobatics from star receiver Michael Crabtree.
Now 12 years on from the Red Raiders’ monumental moment, Robertson — a four-star quarterback in the 2021 class — committed to join Leach at Mississippi State on Tuesday in a recruitment that shows as much an appeal to Leach’s wide-open air raid offense as his deep Texas roots.
“I was young, but I mean, everybody around here knows who Mike Leach is,” Robertson told The Dispatch. “And just growing up I still remember the game in 2008 where Texas Tech beat Texas and that kind of stuff. It was really cool for me to have this opportunity to go play for him.”
With spring practices canceled and travel stalled in light of the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19, Leach and his staff have been limited in their ability to recruit over the past month. Despite that, the Bulldogs’ remaining targets in the 2021 class demonstrate a growing ability to look beyond the borders of the Magnolia State for talent.
At present, 88 of MSU’s 173 offers have gone to players in Georgia (31), Texas (29) and Florida (28). By contrast, just 56 prospects from Mississippi (17), Tennessee (14), Alabama (13) and Louisiana (11) combined have received MSU offers.
Of those, Texas is a logical recruiting region for the Bulldogs given Leach and his staff’s deep connections to the Lonestar State.
Inside receivers coach Dave Nichol hails from Dallas and began his coaching career as a student assistant for Leach in Lubbock before stops at Cisco Junior College (Cisco, Texas) and Baylor.
Safeties coach Jason Washington is also a Texas native and has spent the past 15 years at varying levels in the state — most recently as the recruiting coordinator and cornerbacks coach at UT, where he was named the top recruiting coach in the Big 12 in 2018 by 247 Sports.
Cornerbacks coach Darcel McBath, too, boasts experience in the state, having played for Leach at Texas Tech in the mid-2000’s before five-year NFL career.
In all, four of Leach’s 10 on-field assistant coaches have spent extended time in Texas, not to mention Senior Associate Athletic Director of Football Dave Emerick, who spent six years in varying roles at Texas Tech and currently oversees recruiting at MSU.
“Well we’re not going to ignore it,” Leach said of how he’d approach recruiting Texas during his National Signing Day press conference Feb. 5. “But of course we’ll utilize the context to uncover quality players. If they’re interested in what we have going on, we’ll sift through and see who contributes to what we’re looking for, and then of course you don’t want to fly over the top of players to go get other players anymore than necessary.”
It’s also worth noting that Leach’s recruitment of Texas is not a recent occurrence.
In Washington State’s 2018, 2019 and 2020 classes, Texas boasted the second-most offered players outside of California. The 2013 class — Leach’s first full cycle in Pullman — was similarly heavy on Texas products and stood second to just California as well.
“They’re prioritizing Texas, for sure, in the (2021) cycle,” 247 Sports Director of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong told The Dispatch. “There’s a ton of really good players in that state, and it’s not just the ones that are the most touted that end up playing in the NFL down the road.”
“With the ties that this staff has, I think it’s made it more advantageous for Mississippi State to go into Texas, and you’re seeing the results,” he continued.
And while not quite as simplistic a tie, Florida and Georgia have comparable explanations for their recent targeting based on the current staff’s past history.
Early in his career, Leach recruited in Florida as an assistant for Hal Mumme at Iowa Wesleyan before the pair moved to Valdosta State, a Division II school located in southern Georgia and just over 20 minutes from the Florida border.
Outside receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr. — the son of longtime Florida coach and Heisman Trophy winner Steve Spurrier — also spent time as a graduate assistant at UF in the mid-1990s and recruited the Sunshine State heavily while an assistant at South Carolina.
As for Georgia, offensive line coach Mason Miller was born in Marietta and played for Leach at Valdosta State before meandering around the country in varying coaching capacities.
“Georgia can’t take everybody in Georgia and Texas, and Texas A&M can’t take all the good players in Texas,” Wiltfong said. “There’s so many good players, and if you evaluate well you can really become a good football team recruiting those three states (Georgia, Texas and Florida).”
Of course, it remains to be seen how many of the 88 prospects Leach’s staff have offered in Georgia, Texas and Florida will actually commit to MSU.
That said, with Robertson and fellow Texas native Daniel Greek as the only pledges of Leach’s tenure to date coupled with recent offering patterns, future MSU rosters may boast far more players who grew up watching the Red Raiders and the Gators than the Bulldogs.
“The good news is there’s talent everywhere,” Washington told The Dispatch in February. “And these kids are getting out and going different places, and so when they step on campus, we want to make this feel like home for them and gain a relationship and a love for our coaches and the players that are around here and the city of Starkville. From there, shoot, sell everything else and give them a goal and a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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