Washington State Coach Mike Leach was striding through the Embassy Suites lobby about the time the Little Rock Touchdown Club awards banquet was beginning.
Inside the hotel banquet room was England senior tight end/defensive end B.J. Thompson. The club was honoring Thompson as the state’s Class 2A player of the year.
As word of Leach's appearance eventually spread to club president David Bazzel, a former Arkansas linebacker, he mentioned the sighting to a packed crowd. Thompson had been committed to Washington State, but had de-committed that morning after receiving an offer from Texas.
Leach and another assistant traveled all the way from Pullman to try and convince Thompson - widely considered a three-star recruit - to reconsider.