SAN ANTONIO— During the press conference between Washington State coach Mike Leach and Iowa State coach Matt Campbell, Leach spent some time discussing a familiar place.

From 1989-1991, Leach was the offensive coordinator at Iowa Wesleyan, a Division III program located in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. While he hasn’t lived in the state since the early 90s, Leach had fond memories of his time in the midwest.

“Outstanding people in Iowa, very down-to-earth people in Iowa,” Leach said. “It was a great place to be … Of course every town has some unique thing, unique place, unique story.

“Iowa is kind of a fascinating place.”

Leach and then-head coach Hal Mumme invented the Air Raid offense while at Iowa Wesleyan, which has since become Leach’s identity as a coach at both Texas Tech (2000-2009) and Washington State (2012-present).

Leach spent about two minutes talking about his thoughts on the state of Iowa, including a tidbit from a book written by Iowa native Bill Bryson.

Here are Leach’s full comments about Iowans and the passion they have for their state.