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James Franklin Pays Tribute To Mike Leach

Penn State football head coach James Franklin took to Twitter Tuesday afternoon to react to the news of Mike Leach’s death.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Leach family, friends and the entire Mississippi State Football organization,” Franklin said. “I always had a ton of respect for Mike and his coaching career. The impact he made on College Football was deep and felt by many. He will be greatly missed.”

Leach died Monday night at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, according to Mississippi State. He was 61 years old and died following complications from a heart condition. He was hospitalized Sunday following a “personal health issue” and was left in critical condition.

Leach was the head coach at Mississippi State for three seasons, taking the program’s helm in early 2020. He previously was the head coach at Texas Tech and Washington State, where he pioneered the air raid offense.

Leach was Kentucky’s offensive coordiantor in its 1999 Outback Bowl loss to Penn State.

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About the Author

Ryan Parsons

Ryan is a redshirt senior majoring in business and journalism from "Philadelphia" and mostly writes about football nowadays. You can follow him on Twitter @rjparsons9 or say hi via email at ryanparsons@onwardstate.com.

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