News of him falling gravely ill swept through college football the past few days and left many who knew him stunned, hoping and praying for Leach's recovery under grim circumstances."Coach Mike Leach cast a tremendous shadow not just over Mississippi State University, but over the entire college football landscape," university president Mark E. Keenum said in a statement.He was also known for his quirky personality, dry wit, and penchant for talking about history, business and politics (and, really, just about anything else) as comfortably as he did quarterbacks making the right reads and receivers running the right routes.Never one to shy away from opining on any subject, Leach once quipped, "I miss streakers," after a fan ran onto the field and dropped his pants following a touchdown in Washington State's 24-21 win over Stanford in 2017.He graduated in the upper 25% of his class with a law degree from Pepperdine University and co-authored a book on Geronimo and the Apache leader's approach to leadership."