Washington State Football: Darryl Monroe Talks About Buying Into The Leach System

Washington State players had their chance to speak during PAC-12 media day earlier on Wednesday and it was no surprise that they made the best of it.

Quarterback Connor Halliday and linebacker Darryl Monroe were the chosen players to accompany Head Coach Mike Leach during media day in Hollywood, California. The two players had a chance to sit down with PAC-12 Networks’ Mike Yam, Nick Allioti, and Curtis Conway and were asked questions about Mike Leach and the season that is approaching quickly.

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The two were asked to talk about what it was like to play for Mike Leach and Monroe took the question and followed it with the story of how he first met coach Leach. Monroe says, doing his best Leach impersonation, that Leach said “Alright, I’m Mike Leach, here’s the plan, lets go practice.”

Monroe then goes on to talk about how he and the team are starting to buy into the Leach System and starting to believe that his plan is actually going to work. Curtis Conway then asks Halliday and Monroe if they think the team is finally starting to buy into the his plan and his ideas. He brings up that when Leach first joined the Cougars that the team was struggling in the locker room and on the field to get on board and keep up with him and believe that his plan was going to eventually take them to the top of the PAC-12 North.

Monroe goes on to talk about how players are certainly on board and starting to believe in Leach. He talks about how some players were confused and didn’t necessarily buy into the system or questioned what he was doing when he first joined the team and how those players are no longer on the team because they were a distraction to everyone else. Monroe talks about how they are starting to see what Leach and his plan can do for the Cougars and how the players are starting to not question what he is doing because they all believe that it will work in the end.

Aug 31, 2013; Auburn, AL, USA; Washington State Cougars linebacker Darryl Monroe (13) celebrates the recovery of a fumble made by Auburn Tigers running back Tre Mason (21) at Jordan Hare Stadium. The Tigers defeated the Cougars 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

After taking the Cougars to a bowl game for the first time since 2003 Mike Leach has the Cougars headed in a great direction and is not looking like he wants to just keep going to regular bowl games. Leach has a plan to take the Cougars to the top of the PAC-12 and start to make a difference in the rest of college football and become a team that people don’t want to play. With players buying into the system and seeing what it can actually do it will not take long before that dream becomes a reality.

The Cougars are now entering their third year under Leach and the expectations are starting to become higher. Games like last years upsets against USC and Arizona are going to start being games that are not surprises but expectations and the players are starting to realize that. You cant win games if the players don’t believe in the system and that is evident that it is turning around. It was always said that it is not a sprint but a marathon and those players who were willing to stick around and do the marathon are starting to see those benefits.

Leach, Monroe, and Halliday will start their third leg of that marathon on August 28th when they take on Rutgers in the annual Seattle game before heading to Nevada in week 2 to take on the Wolf Pack.

You can find the interview between PAC-12 Networks and Halliday and Monroe here.

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