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Philadelphia Eagles backup quarterback Gardner Minshew was excused from Tuesday’s walkthrough ahead of this week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys to attend the memorial service of his former coach Mike Leach.
Minshew, who played quarterback under Leach at Washington State in 2018, was excused from practice to attend the legendary coach’s memorial service in Mississippi, where he spoke about his experience with Leach and the impact he had on his life in the six short months they spent together.
Gardner Minshew, left, of the Washington State Cougars, confers with head coach Mike Leach during an NCAA Pac-12 college football game against the Stanford Cardinal Oct. 27, 2018, at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, Calif. (David Madison/Getty Images)
"Probably my favorite thing about coach is that extreme courage of just being yourself, and I think that’s one of the things that he really rubbed off on me," Minshew said while speaking at the service at Humphrey Coliseum on Mississippi State’s campus.
"And man, my life and football, outside of it – that’s one of the greatest gifts and one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned."
Minshew’s 4,776 passing yards his senior year were the second-most in Division I college football history behind Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins. His 38-touchdown effort and Alamo Bowl victory helped him get drafted in the sixth round by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019.
Washington State Cougars quarterback Gardner Minshew (16) and head coach Mike Leach react as balloons and confetti fall from the Alamodome ceiling after a game against the Iowa State Cyclones Dec. 28, 2018, at the Alamodome in San Antonio. (Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
"It was only six months I had with coach Leach, but he really changed my life," Minshew said. "He changed how I saw myself. Changed what I thought was possible for myself, and I just really couldn’t be more grateful. Thank you, coach."
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Minshew may get a chance to start Saturday against the Dallas Cowboys in place of an injured Jalen Hurts.
Head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters Tuesday they will continue to game plan around either possibility.
Gardner Minshew of the Philadelphia Eagles before a game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium Dec. 5, 2021, in East Rutherford, N.J. (Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
"We are going to have to plan for both guys to play. We’re going to have to have a plan for Jalen to play. We’re going to have to have a plan for Gardner to play. There will naturally be some differences … because there’s going to be things different that Gardner likes that Jalen might not like as much and vice versa."
Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
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