Wes Welker: College football will never be same without Mike Leach and ‘craziest stuff'

MIAMI GARDENS — Wes Welker was calling his old college coach, Mike Leach, for a recommendation on one of his receivers. It’s standard operating procedure, which, as Welker knows, often produces little more than standard responses.

At least that’s how most college coaches handle it.

Mike Leach wasn’t like most.

“He was like, ‘If you all sign that guy, you guys are effed up,’ ” Welker, the Dolphins receivers coach, said, laughing at the memory.

More:These Dolphins willing to admit when scheme, details, execution should all be better

The story (of the unnamed Dolphin who never was) came to mind Wednesday as Welker remembered his coach at Texas Tech. Leach died Monday night from complications related to a heart condition, according to his current school, Mississippi State. He was 61.

“The main thing I’m going to remember is just his personality in general,” Welker said. “I think just the aura he brought — just a different mentality than any other coach you’ve ever been around. He’s serious and he’s hard on you, but he was instrumental in creating a culture of toughness.”

Toughness?

Try a Thursday practice before a Saturday game in which “we ran like 120 plays,” Welker said.

Different?

“You’d see him jump in the cold tub,” Welker said. “He’s like, ‘Why would I just stick my foot in there? You just jump in.’ You’re just kind of like, ‘What’s wrong with this crazy guy? So many just great stories about him.”

One of the best, as far as Welker’s future was concerned, happened when Welker was coming out of Heritage Hall High in Oklahoma. Welker recalls it was 12:10 p.m. when he was visiting Texas Tech, booked on a 1 p.m. flight.

“And he’s just taking his time,” Welker said. “He’s eating the biggest strawberries you’ve ever seen. … And next thing, he sits there, ends up offering me and wants to know when I can give him an answer. And I gave him my answer right then. I didn’t have many choices.”

Leach landed his receiver. Welker landed back home, actually making his flight.

“Lubbock, Texas, baby,” Welker said. “You can get in and out of there pretty quickly.”

Dolphins receiver River Cracraft also faced an uncertain future until Leach gave him a chance while coaching Washington State.

“They were the first ones to show me some respect and some love,” Cracraft said. “When somebody shows interest, you get excited.”

That wasn’t the only reason Cracraft was excited.

“Naturally, being a receiver in the Air Raid offense is pretty inviting,” Cracraft said.

It set him up for life in the NFL, but that’s not all Cracraft took away from his time with Leach.

“I think Coach Leach brought all of his players a lot of life lessons,” Cracraft said. “Yeah, I could sit here for a while to come up with all of that stuff.”

Leach’s system was in its formative stages when Welker played for him. But it was one players took to right away.

“With him, we’re going to go four downs and we’re going to throw the ball every single time, right?” Welker said. “He doesn’t care. We went for it on fourth-and-20 against New Mexico one year, like a 0-0 game, and we scored a touchdown. I just love that. He's like that and he doesn't give a damn.”

Welker said he knew whenever he phoned Leach, he had to be prepared to set aside 1 1/2 hours for a rambling conversation, “talking about the craziest stuff.”

Welker is going to miss those talks.

“He’s definitely be sorely missed,” Welker said. “College football is definitely not going to be the same without him around.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dolphins WR coach Wes Welker pays tribute to his old coach, Mike Leach