Washington State coach Mike Leach saw one of his former pupils play well for the Jaguars on Thursday night and expects another to do the same thing for the Jets on Sunday.

Gardner Minshew threw for two touchdowns to lead the Jaguars over the Titans on Thursday. Now, Luke Falk will try to pull off an even greater feat for the Jets in Foxborough on Sunday against the Patriots.

“He’s a real good game manager. He knows all the tricks,” Leach said in a phone interview. “One distinction, that is pretty hard to ignore, is he’s the all-time leading passer in the history of the Pac-12 that throws it more than anybody. I think he’s a great game manager. He’s always been a student of the game and utilizes all his weapons out there, which I think is kind of the most important job of a quarterback.”

Falk put up prolific numbers for the Cougars under Leach in three-plus years as the starter. As Leach mentioned, his 14,481 passing yards are the most in Pac-12 history. He also holds the conference record with 119 passing touchdowns. He threw for the eighth-most passing yards in FBS history and the 10th-most passing touchdowns.

Leach said Washington State began recruiting Falk, who missed his junior season in high school due to Utah transfer rules, late in the process. Washington State needed a quarterback, but did not have a scholarship. Falk had no scholarship offers, according to Leach. Only Cornell was recruiting him and it does not give scholarships.

Falk walked on at Washington State and quickly became its No. 2 quarterback. He became the starter late in his freshman season and then started the rest of his college career.

Despite having such a prolific college career, Falk lasted until the sixth round in the 2018 NFL Draft. Leach said he is still unsure what NFL scouts did not see in Falk.

“It’s interesting to me. Somehow they always think our guys have weak arms, which they don’t,” Leach said. “He’s a tall, statuesque guy. He’s not as fast as some of them would have liked. Other than that, I don’t know. It’s a great question. I can’t say I know the answer to that. I certainly would have taken him sooner than they did.”

While Falk faces a daunting task on Sunday against a 2-0 Patriots team that has not allowed a touchdown yet this season, Leach believes in him.

“I think he’s going to do a good job,” Leach said. “I read that everybody felt he knew the offense better than all of them, which doesn’t surprise me. That’s characteristic of him. He does a great job of studying and knowing his personnel. Obviously, New England is definitely a challenge but I think Luke will do a really good job.”