How BAD Was Ryan Leaf Actually?

just the name ryan leaf brings collective groans and the word bust is thought of instantly but at one point leaf was debated as a better prospect than peyton manning so how did he go from a can't miss prospect to rock bottom today we go through the story of ryan leaf and just how bad he actually was ryan leaf grew up in great falls where he dominated the state of montana with leaf under center the russell high school rustlers won the 1992 state title but he was under crazy scrutiny for a kid who just led his school to a championship people in the town a town run by football actively hated leaf his overbearing competitive fire led to people calling him a showboat and emotional in basketball he was suspended a few games for flipping off the crowd he alienated all of his opponents with his cocky style coming into a senior year the university of miami was recruiting leaf but not to play quarterback instead the keynes wanted his big body a tight end that's when washington state came calling mike price the cougars head coach had a simple recruiting pitch he called him while the rose bowl was live on tv and said if you come to pullman we will go there mind you the cougs hadn't been to the rose bowl in 67 years that brash style resonated with ryan 17 at the time he could relate to coach price he committed to wsu's surprising many after getting his first taste of college ball as a freshman his next two seasons were nothing short of prolific especially 1997 leaf's junior season washington state was an unknown an underdog that they still are today picked to finish seventh in the pac-10 leaf and the cougars open the season up against the two pac-10 bullies ucla and usc every expert had them going 0-2 season already wasted over just two weeks in leif and the fab 5 his self-proclaimed group of skilled players had other ideas they shocked the bears and the world in week one winning late 37-34 then they went to the coliseum in southern cal and controlled the game against the trojans eventually winning 28-21 with leaf at the helm they went on to have the greatest season in washington state history leaf broke the pac-10 touchdown record throwing 33 scoring strikes while winning conference player of the year awards finishing third in the heisman voting and taking home the sami ball trophy given to the nation's best passer the cougs won their first pac-10 championship in school history finished ninth in the overall polls and just like coach price guaranteed they made it to the rose bowl the cougars fell short to the eventual national champion michigan wolverines despite a strong performance from leaf with little left to accomplish ryan leaf skipped his senior year to enter the 1998 nfl draft going into the draft there was but one and only one storyline peyton manning and ryan leaf who would be the better quarterback they were 1a and 1b the entire way and undoubtedly their careers would be connected forever the debate was fierce tampa bay coach tony dungy said the league was split on who was better ryan leaf had all the talent and latent potential in the world many believed he was more athletic and possessed a stronger arm than manning but as leaf was being compared to a future hall of famer ominous signs of his own nfl future began to pop up in just the three months between the rose bowl and the nfl combine ryan leaf packed on 20 pounds of pure fat despite that the san diego chargers loved both quarterbacks so much that they traded up one spot with the cardinals to ensure they got whoever the colts didn't pick with the first overall selection turns out leaf made that selection easy for indy leaf blew off his pre-draft meeting with the colts when bill paulian indy's gm told leaf of future mini camp dates should they draft him leif let him know he wouldn't make it instead he had a vegas trip with his buddies planned that probably leaves a bad taste in the mouth i wanted to go to the beach the money the babes that was the mindset of a 21 year old life said later that thinking led him to tell indianapolis to straight up not draft he wanted the californian son over quite possibly a better roster to play with he was now 260 pounds and reports of his off-putting personality spread through the league self-confident to the point of arrogance and obnoxious became the first label he would be known by after trading a king's ransom for it the san diego chargers drafted ryan leaf when the colts granted his wish of passing on him he was given everything he ever asked for and that's where our story takes a swift and dark turn in his intro conference leif couldn't fight off yawns to answer questions from the media which makes sense when he spent the night before partying on the las vegas strip in the chargers owner's private jet before he ever even hit the field the nfl find leaf when he skipped out on the last day of a mandatory rookie symposium they took 10k right out of his bank account leaf was given the biggest rookie contract in the history of nfl football at the time and was named the day one starter from the beginning of training camp all of that despite the fact he came in 15 pounds overweight and unable to complete a lap around the field without gasping for air and taking a break in an almost comical single-play summary of his story ryan leaf literally fumbled the snap on the first play of his nfl career he would throw his first nfl touchdown pass later in the game but then threw a bone-headed and costly first career int that gave the bills the lead it would take two absolute shanks from the bill's kicker late in the game to reserve a win in his nfl debut leaf followed up his debut with a below average but turnover free performance san diego's stifling defense took charge and led them to their second straight win what if we told you that leaf had as many wins in his first two games as he would the rest of his career the entirety of his nfl career the next week ryan leaf took the honor of having the worst game in nfl history seriously the stats back it up leaf posted a zero zero quarterback rating behind a one for 15 day worst part is that the lone completion came on his first throw of the day he then threw two interceptions hitting chief's defenders with more passes than his own guys if that wasn't bad enough he fumbled the ball away three times in the first seven drives leaf single-handedly gave the ball away five times when you add in taking two sacks the chargers ended with a negative 19 yards passing on the day ouch that negative number broke a guinness book of not world records for yards that stood for over a decade ryan leaf backed up his horrible performance by screaming and cussing at a cameraman while recording a local tv show when the san diego media reported on the incident leif turned his rage to them tirading on a reporter in the locker room it took multiple chargers players and personnel to separate and calm him down in practice he threw an intentional pass at the reporter when his back was turned but it was deflected by a player on the sidelines on to the next game which leaf opened up by throwing three straight picks and a final one in the fourth quarter unsurprisingly he was benched poetic justice the next week peyton manning got his first career win against the chargers with leaf missing a two-point conversion late in the game in mid-october leaf gave out a half-hearted apology of his behavior before he was seen throwing beers at someone at washington state just a month later whether it was the saddening turn of off-field events or the historically bad 39 passer rating on the field the chargers could take no more of it ryan leaf was benched for the remainder of his rookie year he finished with two touchdowns to 15 interceptions for 1200 yards if you thought that was bad wait for his next year after refusing to go to voluntary workouts leaf took all of 20 minutes into training camp to suffer a season-ending shoulder injury while sidelined all he did was get fined ten thousand dollars for not wearing chargers gear to games telling the media his contract would be voided and then getting suspended four weeks for jumping at and getting into a shouting match with his gm how do you get suspended on your days off because san diego was so bad and didn't learn from their lessons leaf got his starting job back the next year how did he repay them a nine-game season where he threw 18 interceptions before being promptly put back on the bench where he belonged they finished 1 and 15 and leif never suited up for them again so where is ryan leaf now well that's a video all in itself his career as one of the greatest busts to ever live and the reaction it got from the world spiraled him into a dark world of depression fighting the psychological and physical toll his career put on him leif turned to an opioid addiction unfortunately it would take over a decade and indictments that led him to montana and texas jail sentences before he could turn his life around the best he could since then it's been up and down leaf has held positions as qb coach and even espn analyst but fights the daily battle of mental illnesses that he himself professes to now he's just trying to utilize his rocky roller coaster life as a tool in helping people fight the same demons that have controlled him before regardless of how bad he actually was in the nfl and he was downright bad we just wish ryan leafed the best to continue to fight for happiness peace of mind and closure

Channel: Nonstop

Views: 769,949

Keywords: NFL, biggest busts, nfl busts, ryan leaf, nonstop sports

Id: cAonY2kj2c8

Length: 9min 27sec (567 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 07 2021