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Mike Leach is talking on his cell phone about Logan's own Luke Falk. Trying to talk about Luke Falk.

He's also riding a bike, somewhere in Florida, I think he said. Trying to ride a bike. But the bike's broken down, and Leach is half-concentrating on his quarterback, half-concentrating on his busted ride, muttering all around in earnest, muffled tones. He says something like this: "Luke's great. He is a fabulous person. This damn thing is screwed up. I can't get it out of that one gear. What the hell's going on? I'm sorry, what's the question again?"

The question is about Washington State's quarterback, a junior from Cache Valley, an easygoing kid who likes to fish and hang out with buddies and listen to George Strait songs and classic rock and who loves to get back to his hometown when he can. His story may be inspiring for those to whom success, attention and acclaim don't come automatically.

But, in this tale, they do.

Falk walked on in Pullman because nobody else really wanted him. There was an invite from Cornell, but then the coach left. Florida State backed away from early interest, and Idaho pulled a scholarship late, when he was working through high school. Idaho? That's the front end. Here's the back: Falk last season led the NCAA in passing, averaging 380 yards per game, becoming an aerial force who made more of a difference in his team's ascension, his coach says, than any other player at any other school.

"If you judge the Heisman on who elevated his teammates the most, it was Luke Falk," Leach says. "I don't know what's a matter with this dumb bike. I guess I can ride it, but it's too hard to pedal. What the … It's messed up."

Leach's offensive leader is not messed up.

He is not stuck in one gear.

"The argument can be made that Luke was the best quarterback in the country last season," Leach says. "And he's got two years left."

Certainly, Falk and UCLA's Josh Rosen are seen as the Pac-12's top returning QBs, and Falk's rise to that lofty position is as rewarding to him as it is remarkable to everyone else. But true to the quarterback's nature, he's far from satisfied with or fatheaded about the ground already won.

"A lot of things have gone my way here," he says. "Good things come to those who work hard. I got lucky. My hard work met an opportunity."

So, here's the short version of how it happened.

Falk was born in Salt Lake, grew up as a youngster in Farmington, then moved with his family to Logan when he was in 8th grade. Through the Logan years, he developed early interest in playing quarterback. Leach puts it this way: "Luke's always been diligent, determined. When other kids were out playing with Legos, he was working on playing quarterback."

His family moved to Southern California in Falk's sophomore year, where he played in a couple of games at famed Oaks Christian, the same school where Joe Montana's kid played, and Wayne Gretzky's. One of the reasons the family went to the L.A. area was on account of his sisters attempting to break into the music business.

They moved back to Utah before his junior year, but Falk was not permitted to play football at Logan High that season because of transfer rules. He did play basketball, and then started his senior year, throwing for 3,618 yards and 36 touchdowns.

Utah State, a school he would have loved to attend, wasn't interested in him because the Aggies were looking for more athletic quarterbacks. He wound up at Washington State after coaches there saw his film and identified him as a preferred walk-on. He redshirted, and got better.

"Initially, there were seven quarterbacks," Falk says. "I was one of the last guys. I just hung in there, and improved."

When senior Connor Halliday broke two bones near the end of the 2014 season, Falk got his chance as a redshirt freshman, passing for 471 yards and five touchdowns in his first start.

He took over in 2015 and was named first-team all-conference in a sophomore season during which he completed nearly 70 percent of his passes, leading the Cougars to a surprising 9-4 record.

"All I care about is winning," Falk says. "I want to build off last year, get a few games better."

Asked about high expectations coming from outside the program this season, Falk says: "We're ignoring the noise. It doesn't mean anything."

Except it signals respect.

Leach says one of the factors in Falk's success has been his composed bearing: "He's got a steadiness to him that's indisputable. He's focused. He's the same guy every day. That's especially good for a quarterback because everyone else draws off of what he does. He probably does that better than anyone I've had.

"Everyone always wants to ask about a quarterback … How strong is he? How big is he? How far can he throw it? That's backwards. What comes first is … Can he make good reads? Can he lead? Is he accurate? As a quarterback, your ultimate job is to elevate the people around you. You have your finger on the trigger. You decide what happens. In that role, he does a tremendous job."

Leach, who once learned as a student at BYU by watching LaVell Edwards, and whose parents live in St. George — "My dad plays golf everyday," he says, "… I hate golf" — and who has made a name for himself with prolific offenses and notable passers, says quarterbacks, unlike players at some positions, can be trained to be great: "You can't do that with a running back. But a quarterback can learn and play, if he focuses."

The coach never does get that damned bike fixed. But his QB, that's all taken care of. Leach describes Falk's path perfectly. He's grinded away, earned his standing, been rock-steady, absorbed his lessons well, and become something few thought he would.

Falk will take it, and press forward.

"I just want to do a little better," he says. "Make better reads, have less turnovers, be a better leader, improve day by day. I live in the present and focus on today … just trying to do my job."

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone. Twitter: @GordonMonson. —

Luke Falk's statistics at Washington State

Redshirt freshman stats • 1,859 yards, 13 TDs, 7 INTs

Redshirt sophomore stats • 4,566 yards, 38 TDs, 8 INTs