Mike Leach (American football)

Infobox NFLactive

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name=Mike Leach
currentteam=Denver Broncos
currentnumber=83
currentpositionplain=Tight end, Long snapper
birthdate=birth date and age|1976|10|18
birthplace=Dover, New Jersey
heightft=6
heightin=2
weight=240
debutyear=2000
debutteam=Tennessee Titans
college=William & Mary
undraftedyear=2000
pastteams=
* Tennessee Titans (2000–2001)
* Denver Broncos (2002–present)
nfl=LEA091822

Mike Leach (born October 18, 1976 in Jefferson Township, New Jersey) is an American football player. He is a tight end and long snapper for the Denver Broncos, who he joined as a free agent in November 2002. He went to the College of William and Mary, and entered the National Football League with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2000.

High school years

Mike Leach attended Jefferson High School in Jefferson Township, New Jersey and was a letterwinner in football, baseball, and basketball. In football, he was a first team All-State selection at Punter. Mike Leach graduated from Jefferson Township High School in 1995, ranked number 1 in his class. Leach credits his prowess as a Special Teams Ace in the NFL to the mentoring of the legendary Ed "Lev" Levens. In basketball, Leach graduated as the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in Jefferson High School history and missed just two foul shots in his entire career. Leach learned the art of longsnapping from his two brothers, Jim Leach and Tom Leach, both of whom have had successful snapping careers of their own in the Canadian Football League and the NFL.

College years

Leach attended Boston University (1995–1997) and the College of William and Mary (1998–2000).

"Sports Illustrated"

Mike Leach was featured in an August 2007 issue of "Sports Illustrated" in which writer Peter King listed the top 500 players in the National Football League. Mike Leach was listed as number 1,000, symbolizing the entire 1,196 of NFL players who were not listed in the issue. Leach was recognized for being one of the few long snappers in the NFL who rarely makes mistakes.

When Broncos starting quarterback Jay Cutler got injured November 4, Leach was warmed up on the sideline during the game and would have taken snaps at QB if backup Patrick Ramsey had suffered an injury of his own. Him and fellow lon g snapper of the new york jets James Dearth have not been in a madden game since madden 2005

External links

* [http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=498&contentID=728 Club bio]
* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/08/28/leach0903/index.html The King 500]