Time at Washington State under Mike Leach remains priceless for Dezmon Patmon

SOUTHLAKE, Texas – Like many who played for him during his long, successful, and unique coaching career, Dezmon Patmon will never forget his time playing for Mike Leach between 2016 and 2019 at Washington State.

“Yeah, I can’t say enough good things about Washington State. Definitely shaped my future and obviously, RIP Leach, but his offense was the most fun you could have as a receiver because there’s so much flexibility, freedom,” said Patmon, 25, who was recently let go from the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL).

“It’s designed to just throw the ball downfield. I can’t say enough good things about coach Leach and his offense. My experiences at Washington State set me up for everything in the future. There was a lot of attention to detail (in his offense), but there was also a lot of flexibility, which is a paradox. But when we would go through it, it just made sense. Certain things made sense because there were a lot of things you needed to do, but there was a lot of freedom in getting to the end result. It was just a fun time. I don’t even know how to explain it. If any receiver is interviewed from playing in his offense, I’m sure that they will say the same thing, that it was just a fun time.”

Cougar fans remember Patmon as a consistent presence at wide receiver during his time in Pullman. He finished his career with 156 catches for 1,976 yards and 13 touchdowns, a run of top form which also saw him go 33 consecutive games with a catch, a great run considering he played 43 games in his WSU career, including 12 starts.

And like many who once played in the Pac-12 Conference, he’s saddened to see his former conference leaving college sports with a whimper.

“Yeah, I’m going to be sad to see the Pac-12 go, honestly. Especially, I feel like last year we had the best year of Pac-12 play in a while,” Patmon said. “I’m glad that we went out with a bang, but I’m going to be sad not seeing Pac-12 After Dark anymore. It (the conference) has been around for over 100 years and you just ruined decades and decades of tradition. Now you’ve got West Coast teams playing East Coast (teams) and all this conference alignment, so you just mess a lot of things up. I’m really sad to see the Pac-12 just disappear.”

In 2020, he heard his name called in the sixth round of the NFL draft by Indianapolis, where he played until 2022. Patmon had stints on Indy’s 53-man active roster and on its practice squad but appeared in 10 games during his three seasons there, an experience he’ll never forget.

“The Colts are a great organization. That becomes your new family,” he said. “I made a lot of great relationships and I’m sad I left. It was a great three years. I’m glad they had a great season last year.”

Since departing the Colts, Patmon was on practice squads in Buffalo and Carolina last season before his recent tryout in the UFL, a league created when the XFL and United States Football League (USFL), two competing spring leagues, merged this winter.

Before he was cut by Michigan, coach Mike Nolan was impressed by Patmon. A former NFL head coach known as one of the game’s great defensive minds, Nolan has seen his share of Leach-coached receivers over the years and can quickly spot them due to several factors. “Typically, there’s a lot of success on the plate for those guys,” Nolan said. “One of the hard things about evaluating skill guys, wide receivers in particular, especially if they’re in an offense like Leach’s, is they have so much production but how much is it going to relate to the next level? Their scheme has part to do with them having a lot of production not just the fact that they’re good players.”

The veteran coach sees a lot of potential in a player like Patmon, a receiver who has several years of NFL experience.

“He’s got a lot of ability and that has a lot to do with it, but some guys are successful in the offense just because they’re in the right place at the right time.

“Production’s what you see out of a lot of guys that come out of his scheme and in his (Patmon’s) case, he’s got good size, runs well, (is a) smart receiver. That’s the other thing I would say coming out of Leach’s offenses, is the guys are typically smart receivers. They understand how to get open and that’s huge because if you can’t get open, the quarterback’s not going to throw you the ball.”

Stephen Hunt is a freelance writer based in Frisco, Texas.