Whatever Happened to Mike Leach's First QB, Kliff Kingsbury?

Every Thursday we're going to take a walk down memory lane with players we watched in our younger years. With Mike Leach opening practice at Washington State with a quarterback battle we figured why not take a look back at the enigmatic coach's first QB Success Story, Kliff Kingsbury.

When Mike Leach walked into the door at Texas Tech he already was well aware that his projected starter, Kliff Kingsbury, could play. The kid had torched Leach's team, Oklahoma, for 492 yards and four touchdowns just the season before. Sonny Dykes had left Leach with something he could most certainly work with.

Work, that's exactly what the duo did as Kingsbury, under Leach's tutelage, grew into a wild man throwing the football. Kingsbury walked out the door with 1,231 competions, 12,429 yards and 95 touchdown passes. But, it wasn't just stat magic because the pair also helped lead Texas Tech to an improving spot in the Big 12 South. In 2000 the Red Raiders finished fourth, but as Kingsbury digested the offense and its wrinkles, the team would finish third in both 2001 and 2002. The record improved from 7-6 to 7-5 and then finished at 9-5 in 2002, matching Dykes highest win total and tying Dykes for highest win total since Steve Sloan's 10 wins in the SWC.

As his career at Tech ended, Kingsbury was one of the first in a string of "system guys" attempting to make it to the NFL. He got a chance and tried to hang on, but ultimately the Patriots, the Saints, the Broncos, the Jets and the Bills all could not make use of the quarterback. The Jets shipped him to NFL Europe, and the Bills gave him his final NFL shot at the quarterback spot. Then came the short stint in the CFL before finally Kingsbury started the next chapter of his life.

Kingsbury's college offensive coordinator gave him a shot at coaching in 2008; since the former Texas Tech quarterback got to Houston to work for Dana Holgorsen things have been nothing short of awesome. Holgorsen got the Oklahoma State job and that quickly thrust Kingsbury into the co-offensive coordinator role. After a year working as co-offensive coordinator, Kingsbury was head coach, Kevin Sumlin's go-to guy and he was pulling the strings on Case Keenum's magical run in 2011.

In 2012, Kliff Kingsbury isn't hard to find—he's the offensive coordinator of the Texas A&M Aggies. The coach followed Kevin Sumlin to College Station, and the duo are set to take on the SEC in 2012 in aTm's inaugural season in the Southeastern Conference.

As Mike Leach starts a new chapter in his career, Kliff Kingsbury, his first success story as a head coach, is now poised to help the Texas A&M Aggies start a new chapter of their own.