Mike Leach has a football reputation built on creativity and an off-center approach to just about everything else. But the psychology he trotted out to reach the most accomplished player on his new team was downright old-fashioned.
The coach simply suggested that Marquess Wilson wasn’t that accomplished yet.
“Great receivers have great work ethic,” Leach said. “Right now, his work ethic is average.”
This rip came near the end of a spring that saw Leach continually break down the wideout to build him up, sometimes running the gifted junior with the third string. And, eventually, the message was received — resulting in a 149-yard performance in WSU’s spring game.
Wilson admitted that being called out by his coach played a part.
“That’s just my fault,” he said of his underwhelming spring. “I can understand where they’re coming from. Doing that just makes me work harder.”
Like any number of athletes who make it look easy, Wilson has a style that suggests his motor is barely running. The results generally reveal something else. As a sophomore, Wilson caught 82 passes for 12 touchdowns and nearly 1,400 yards, topping the Pac-12 in yards per game. Being left off the All-Pac-12 first team seemed like an oversight.
But Leach’s spread-out circus demands that Wilson ratchet up his game, and whether it was getting over losing the staff that brought him to Pullman or getting used to the Leach system, that wasn’t happening until Wilson snapped out of it.
“It was just time,” Wilson said. “I noticed that I was lacking out at practice and losing … I don’t know. It was just hard going out there and practicing hard, and I just realized that’s not me.”
Barring injury, the 6-4, 183-pound Wilson could become the Cougars’ all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards by the end of the season. If he’s inclined to pursue his NFL options, that leaves him just this season to play in Leach’s system. That sense of urgency finally registered with Wilson as he alternated game-changing plays in the spring with freshman receiver Dominique Williams.
“The guy tries to act like he’s not that fast or something,” quarterback Jeff Tuel said about Wilson, “but you come out here on the game field and I’ll throw it as far as I want and he’ll run under it.”
Wilson is good enough to do that. Now Leach wants to see if he’s great.