Inside the Air Raid: Sawyer Robertson talks Mike Leach, NFL future

You’d be hard-pressed to find a quarterback who played under Mike Leach who doesn’t have an interesting story to tell. Sawyer Robertson is no exception.

The former Mississippi State and Baylor quarterback, who spent several years of his life playing the in Air Raid under Leach and other coaches, remembers his experience with “The Pirate” quite well.

And it’s an experience no other quarterback will ever have to opportunity to have again, as no coach will truly ever parallel the “one of one” personality the late Leach had, nor is it likely anyone will have the boldness to run and execute the pure Air Raid quite like he did.

“It was different for sure,” Robertson told me. “I think Leach was obviously the only one who kind of ran it, the way he ran it.

Robertson got the best of both worlds in his college career and overall development process, playing in two polar opposite schemes between MSU and Baylor. Ultimately, Robertson played for a total of three offensive coordinators, meaning he learned three different playbooks.

“I went from that to wide zone, under center play action,” Robertson said. “And then, that OC got let go and so then I went back to kind of a spread RPO, throw it around a lot, vertical downfield.”

Nothing he encountered in the second half of his college career quite matched what he did with Leach, he said. And even in ways that had nothing to do with football field itself, Robertson was a better quarterback for being around Leach.

“Coach Leach was a legend and (being with him) was some of the most fun I ever had,” Robertson said. “He ran all our meetings and he was great to me… the biggest thing I learned from him is that he didn’t care what anybody thought of him. He was going to be himself. And as a quarterback, I think that’s a good quality to have.”

Anyone who has ever heard Leach in meetings or talking directly to his quarterbacks knows how tough he is in his mentality. That showed through in more ways than one.

“Coach Leach was obviously more quirky. The meetings were different,” Robertson said.

One of the most unique things about Leach is that he never played quarterback, or football, for that matter. That’s not a requirement, but Robertson says it made for some interesting moments.

“I don’t know how many footballs he’s thrown in his lifetime, which that’s okay. You don’t have to be a quarterback in order to be a quarterback coach,” Robertson said. “But, you know, some of the stuff he would say sometimes were hard to do… like just throwing up into just whatever type of coverage window.

Some of those windows bordered on impossible to actually complete a pass into. Leach’s request probably falls somewhere in between how much of a perfectionist and disciplinarian he was and the fact he hadn’t ever thrown into something remotely like it before.

“Sometimes I’d just say, ‘that’s a tight window, coach. I’m not sure I can make that throw,'” Robertson said. “My experiences with other coaches has been a bit different in terms of expectations and conversations. I don’t know if ‘normal’ is the right word.”

Moving forward as a darkhorse 2026 NFL draft prospect, Robertson brings a lot of potential to a team and projects as a bit ‘Tyler Shough-esque’, if you will.

Not much will be new to him — Robertson has seen a lot of football in practically every shape and form.

“I think I have a good understanding of defenses,” Robertson said. “Leverage, reading coverages, being able to being able to throw an accurate ball, good feet. Also athletic enough to make plays happen when the play breaks down.”

That’s not to say he can’t improve in the pre-draft process, where Robertson has already made strides.

“I have improved a lot with visualizing things, calling a play in a huddle, seeing it, getting under center, doing those kinds of things,” Robertson said. “That’s huge for my development. I’d like to get better is just footwork — I guess that’s kind of a cop out answer. But like if your feet are consistent, then everything else is going to be consistent.”

There’s a stigma around quarterbacks who have spent a lot of time in the Air Raid like Robertson has — warranted or not. It’s questionably substantiated at that, given that many of the NFL’s best quarterbacks have strong Air Raid ties.

But Robertson believes what he can do aligns well with the modern era of the NFL, in which quarterbacks who are first and foremost pocket passers with the ability to scramble when necessary project as the most successful. You don’t have to be a Taysom Hill.

But you can’t be a complete statue, either.

Robertson, looking at the tape and how he’s functioned in different schemes, falls about in the middle. He doesn’t believe there’s a “one size fits all” definition of what today’s quarterback is supposed to be.

“The biggest thing is that you’ve got to figure out a way to move the ball down the field and score,” he said. “And so I think the coolest thing about the modern area is you’re seeing that happen with different body types, different kinds of playing style.”

Things have changed, certain elements of specific types of quarterbacks remain important.

“It used to be tall pocket passer, you know, spread the ball around. That’s where I see myself more fitting,” Robertson said. “But now you’ve seen a lot of guys who might be a little shorter, able to run more, and kind of get after defense that way.”

While Robertson knows he’s classified as more of a pure pocket passer by some analysts, he thinks he’s got a surprise in store for those watching him in Indianapolis.

“I think I’m faster than everyone thinks I am. I really do, so we’ll see that at the Combine.”

This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: From Air Raid to NFL: Sawyer Robertson talks Mike Leach experience

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