Canzano: A fun check-in with Ryan Leaf from the Pac-12 road
Leaf: "This is a new era."
I checked in with Ryan Leaf on Day 4 of his four-day barnstorming tour of the Pac-12 for USA Sports.
Leaf was in Pullman on Monday.
“I might be a little too old for five states in five days,” he told me.
Leaf was sitting in the new locker room at Washington State during our interview. He gave us a mini-tour. The YouTube episode of “BFT: Unfiltered” featuring our 1-on-1 conversation just posted.
It’s worth your time:
Leaf is working for USA Sports as the lead football analyst. He just spent some time at Colorado State, Texas State, Boise State, and Washington State. He’s headed to Pac-12 headquarters in San Ramon, Calif. on Tuesday, then back home to the East Coast.
On the energy at Colorado State with new coach Jim Mora: “Real discipline. Like, they’re not going to make mistakes… that’s what you’re going to get there. Whether or not they’re to have the horses to pull the sleigh… that remains to be seen.”
On the vibe at Texas State: “The Pac-12 brand to those at Texas State, they see it as a ‘Power 4’ conference… the brand is strong.”
On the comparison to Boise State: “(They’re) excited to get in the Pac-12, but ‘We’re Boise. We’re our own brand, too.’”
On Washington State’s new locker room: “It looks nothing like my locker room when I was here. But this is what you have to have. You have to have this stuff in place to get recruits. It didn’t matter when I played… they got to stay even. You have to compete. You have to put the money in… there’s an investment in this conference and this team.”
On Oregon State: “They have to light the way. I think a lot of people think they were bad last year. They weren’t bad. Situationally, things got out of hand. They should have beat Houston. They should have beat Fresno State.”
Leaf said new WSU defensive coordinator Trent Bray is giving the team’s offensive staff “fits” during fall camp.
He also said the Cougars and Beavers, “can’t be sitting at seventh and eighth in this new conference. They have to lead the way.”
The rise, and fall, and redemption of Leaf is a good story. There are some interesting parallels with the fall and rebirth of the Pac-12.
I’m having a lot of fun with the new show on YouTube. Olivia Cleary has been a delight, reading the news. She provided a delightful glimpse into the life of a 20-something during this episode.
If you stick around for it — and I was aghast watching it unfold — Olivia dares one of her close friends on video to eat a corn dog they found on the ground during a food festival over the weekend. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been that hungry.
Please consider a paid subscription for yourself or the donation of a paid subscription for a senior on a fixed budget: