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LOOK: Arkansas football honors Mike Leach with uniform, helmet design

20200517_134556by:Justin Rudolph12/27/22
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Teams across the college football landscape have been paying their respects and honoring the Mississippi State Bulldogs’ late head coach, Mike Leach. And on Tuesday, ahead of their Liberty Bowl matchup against the Kansas Jayhawks, the Arkansas Razorbacks revealed their uniform addition honoring Leach.

On the back of the Razorbacks’ helmets on Wednesday will be a decal with the name “Mike.” The “I” in the decal will be replaced with Mississippi state’s signature cowbell with a skull and crossbones, a sign for pirates. The skull and crossbones represent Leach’s nickname, The Pirate. The design can be seen in the picture below.

The Razorbacks join a list of other programs across the country honoring Mississippi State’s longtime head coach. Leach was a widely respected and appreciated offensive mind in college football. He is also known as the father of the air raid offense. The loss of the longtime head coach will be felt for quite some time. Still, the gesture made by Arkansas, an SEC West rival of Mississippi State, shows that there are things bigger than rivalries.

Mississippi State honors Mike Leach with equipment truck memorial

The Mississippi State Bulldogs will soon depart for Tampa, where the Bulldogs meet Illinois for the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 2. The vessel taking some of the team’s equipment down there is an MSU team bus, but one with a number of pictures and phrases honoring late former coach Mike Leach.

Round of applause to Wade Sims and the entire Mississippi State athletics equipment team. That’s a heck of a gesture. And one that looks pretty cool, with a huge black-and-white mural of the legendary college football coach. It also features a pirate flag in the backdrop, a nod to Leach’s nickname, The Pirate. Then, on the other side and on the back of the truck, reads the old Leach saying: Swing Your Sword.

A great way to honor the late legend. Hats off to the MSU equipment squad.