Steve Sarkisian addresses Mike Leach’s Halloween candy hierarchy

Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach does not take Halloween lightly. On last Saturday’s SEC Network broadcast of their game against Vanderbilt, Leach went into incredible detail on the hierarchy of Halloween candy.

Leach’s unfiltered response sparked a Halloween candy controversy. Pro-candy corn and anti-candy corn reactions have flooded the online comment section over the past week. During his Monday press conference, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian weighed in on the Halloween candy hierarchy.

“I’m gonna go with Mike Leach, I’m not a big fan of candy corn,” said Sarkisian. “I’ve got a sweet tooth so pretty much anything – you throw it out there – I’ll try it.

The first-year Texas coach made it quite clear his Halloween motivation comes in the form of candy, not the scary side of things. Steve Sarkisian revealed the best way to spook him, and what kind of Halloween costume he prefers.

“I’m not a big scary guy, everyone knows, so the Jason masks and things like that just creep me out,” said Sarkisian. “I’m more of the fun costume guy if that helps.”

Mike Leach on Halloween

Last Saturday, Mike Leach revealed a seething hate for candy corn, as well as a clear leaning toward anything of the gummy variety.

“Candy corn is just awful,” said Leach. “It’s the worst candy ever invented. It tastes terrible. It’s bad for you. It makes you sick at the end. What’s to like? I completely hate candy corn.

After taking an early shot toward the candy corn community, Leach redirected his attention toward better candy options.

“When I was a kid, gummy bears,” said Leach. “Gotta be the Haribo ones. Another thing I like is when they used to have the Sprees in a box. Outstanding. You have to go to the dollar store to find it, but I do. There’s still candy innovation. I found out the Europe has better candy than us because they have gummy everything. They have those Nerds clusters, which is new. Then if you go chocolate, Almond Joy.”

Earlier on the broadcast, Leach discussed his best Halloween costume as a kid and why trick or treating is a competition.

“The best one was this vampire costume where I had a cape,” he said. “My mom took a sheet and dyed it black. So I could be a vampire in it. I could be Batman in it. The thing is, mobility is so critical to effective trick or treating because you’ve got to be able to move quickly. If you can’t, you’re not going to get as much candy as you hoped for. I see trick or treating as kind of a competitive event, so it’s not something I took lightly at all.”