Ryan’s
return: Former Washington State QB Ryan Leaf talks analyst debut, Tyler
Hilinski and 2018 Cougars in wide-ranging Q&A
Thu.,
Sept. 13, 2018, 5 a.m.
By Theo Lawson,
Spokane S-R
“I kind of
came in in the cover of dark,” Leaf said, “because no one was around in the
summer and just got a workout in, went and saw the field, new facilities and
then we were headed on our little sojourn we were on.”
Leaf
returned to Pullman last weekend – not nearly the ghost he was during last
summer’s pass through.
Making his
debut as a color analyst for the Pac-12 Networks, Leaf joined Guy Haberman, his
co-host at Sirius XM Pac-12 Radio, and Cindy Brunson, a former SportsCenter
anchor who once was a classmate of Leaf’s at the Murrow College of
Communication, on Saturday night’s broadcast of WSU’s home opener against San
Jose State.
Some
Cougar fans knew Leaf would be in the broadcast booth beforehand and the rest
knew by the second quarter, when WSU recognized the former All-American
quarterback and Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year during a TV timeout and
showed him on the jumbotron in the east end zone.
“That was
kind of supposed to be a surprise, I guess,” Leaf said. “Which it was – of
course pleasant.”
Just three
days removed from the San Jose State game, Leaf, who will be back in Pullman on
Saturday as a color analyst for WSU’s game against Eastern Washington, answered
a few questions while biding time during an airport layover in Houston. The
one-time Heisman finalist critiques his TV debut, talks about Tyler Hilinski
and assesses the 2018 Cougars.
The
Spokesman-Review: What’s the feeling like when you return to Pullman?
Ryan Leaf:
It will always mean a lot to me just because what it gave me and how special it
was. This weekend was a little tough. I think it was kind of under the (Bill)
Moos regime, it was kind of mandated that, let’s keep our distance from Ryan.
And I understand that. I understand that totally, so I don’t have any
resentment toward that. I just wanted everybody’s message to match up with
their actions, that’s all. So it was nice and I just kind of wanted it to
happen organically and it did in the case where the Pac-12 Network had hired me
and asked me to be on the broadcast. So it kind of happened organically in the
way it was supposed to.
S-R: Had
the school reached out about recognizing you during the second quarter of the
SJSU game?
RL: No,
they didn’t. That was kind of supposed to be a surprise, I guess. Which it was
– of course pleasant. But in this new job I’m a color guy and it’s supposed to
be observe, articulate and just stay out of the story. So it was something I
didn’t need or anything, but it was really kind of them, of course. And it was
great that the first call in my broadcasting career was a Washington State
game. I thought that was super special.
S-R: Were
you nervous or anxious before your first TV broadcast?
RL: I
think really the best analogy is, kind of like a rookie quarterback I kind of
stumbled around my first quarter and then kind of started to feel my groove in
the second and third and fourth quarter. And just had a blast. And it was over
before I knew it and I was just like, ‘Damn it, I want to keep doing this.’
Luckily, I get to do it again this weekend, but then I’m kind of in limbo and I
have to wait for another opportunity. I really liked doing it, I really liked
watching the game and educating people on the things I saw from a quarterback’s
perspective, but then also talking about the gamesmanship of it all. Whether
they should go for it on fourth down. The fact that (Gardner) Minshew ran the
ball on the last play of the first half, when like if he got tackled at the
1-yard line, they probably won’t get another play off and they don’t score a
touchdown there. So it was really a lot of fun.
S-R: So,
like a rookie quarterback, will you go back and watch game film?
RL: Oh
yeah, oh yeah. I’ve got the video and sat down with my fiancee and she’s really
good at giving me constructive criticism because she sits around enough with me
watching football games where I’m always spouting off at the television and
stuff, so she knows kind of the idea of what Chris Collinsworth is saying or
Joe Klatt or Kirk Herbstreit. So she was very constructive. She thought I was a
little fast early on, like a little excited. So I was kind of talking too fast,
then really got my pace down throughout the game and just kind of remembered I
was having a conversation with Guy. Which is easy because Guy’s my co-host on
my Sirius XM morning show, and he’s such a pro. He’s just awesome at what he
does and he really kind of tees it up for me.
S-R: If
you had to give yourself a letter grade …
RL:
Probably a C. Probably middle of the road. Plenty of room for improvement, but
definitely not an F.
S-R: Was
it meaningful to have Cindy Brunson there, too?
RL: I
think so. Cindy and I go back. We were in school at the same time, we were in
the Murrow Communication School at the same time together. I watched her rise
all the way up to SportsCenter and ESPN, and then she told me the story about
how she was on air when she had to report about me being arrested and just the
downfall there. So just to come full circle, both of us on the call, I think
was very meaningful. I love her to death.
TV Take:
Pac-12’s Cindy Brunson, Ryan Leaf make returns to Martin Stadium
When Andy
Grammer’s song, “Back Home,” resonated through Martin Stadium Saturday night
during the second quarter of Washington State’s easy win over San Jose State,
it had special meaning for one member of the Pac-12 Network broadcast crew. |
Read more »
S-R: What
was it like to hear the applause you got from WSU fans during the second
quarter?
RL: I
think, and I say this in such a positive way, that no matter what, the fanbase
of Washington State University never, ever gave up on me. They unconditionally
cared about me for 24 years and that never swayed at all. It was just a
reaffirmed feeling. I don’t think a lot of people knew I was actually there on
the call and those that found out, it was something pretty special to have
25,000 people stand up and kind of just appreciate you – not for what you
necessarily did but also what you’ve overcome and the person you’ve become,
which I think is the most important part of it all.
S-R: What
did it mean to be there when the school was honoring Tyler Hilnski?
RL: I
think it was meaningful. I’ve become pretty close with Kym and Mark (Hilinski)
and their family and wanted to be there to support them in any way I could do
it. I was a little disappointed in the opportunity missed by the university to
truly honor him. I think they honored awareness, but I don’t necessarily know
if they honored him. And I understand the direction they’re going with the
guidance of the mental health professionals and things like that, but I thought
that was a missed opportunity. But really liked to see them raise the flag in
honor of Tyler and Pat Chun’s been very upfront about it. This is something
that the university didn’t ask for, but they are ever present at the forefront
of it and I think it’s now their responsibility to be at the front of it and
shine a spotlight on him. And I think they’re attempting to do that. They’ve done
a lot, they can do more and they can be better and I think they would agree.
Tyler
Hilinski’s family takes part in flag-raising ceremony prior to Washington
State-San Jose State game
Tyler
Hilinski’s parents, Mark and Kym, and brothers Kelly and Ryan took part in an
emotionally stirring moment before Washington State’s home opener, raising a
crimson flag in the east end zone amid a chorus of cheers just minutes before
the Cougars kicked off against San Jose State at Martin Stadium. | Read more »
S-R: General
impressions of the Cougars?
RL: Well
for me it’s defensively. That offense is going to generate points and throw the
football, be dynamic. But for me the big question mark was what they were going
to look like with the loss of Alex Grinch. I really think they’re the reason,
the defense is the reason they’ve been so successful the last three years.
Which isn’t to take anything away from Mike Leach and that offense, it’s just
that he’s never had a comparable defense that could really stop people. When
there were nights they couldn’t do much offensively, they just flat-out stopped
people and I had a question mark on what Tracy Claeys was going to bring to the
table and sure enough the first two weeks, he puts together the sixth-lowest
and the first-lowest defensive totals in the Mike Leach era. So I think he’s
got a pretty good hand on things now. The competition’s going to get much
better and this Eastern Washington offense is very, very good for an FCS
football team. So I’m really interested in the game and of course two weeks
from now, they go down to USC that Friday night and we’re really going to get a
good idea of what they’re going to bring to the table when it comes to the
competition within the conference.
S-R: Aside
from the household names, did anyone on that defense really stand out to you?
RL: Jahad
Woods. The comparison Tracy made to him is he’s kind of like a guy he used to
coach named Bart Scott, who’s pretty darn good. So it was fun to watch him. I
find that the corners do a pretty good job. They play a lot of Cover 4, so
they’re going to be out on an island most of the time and I was pretty
impressed with that. But defensive front-wise, their ability to get to the
quarterback I thought was outstanding and that’s what really disrupted that
football team and they barely got over 100 yards of total offense, which is
crazy.
S-R: Is it
special to see another No. 16 out there playing quarterback?
RL:
(Laughs) Yeah, it was fun to see. It hadn’t been on a quarterback for almost
over 20 years and I’m not really a big proponent for retiring jerseys. I think
they should be celebrated and records were made to be broken. So it was nice to
see him and he does such a tremendous job. He knows how to play in that offense
and I think he’s going to be very successful with the Cougars this year.
S-R: You
were able to spend some time with Gardner the day before the game. What was the
conversation like with him?
RL: I
didn’t get to spend much time. I talked to him a little about what it’s like to
be here. He’s traveled quite a bit to come to a place where he gets a chance to
lead a team. I actually told him that this fraternity of quarterbacks here at
Washington State is second to none and if there’s anything I can do for him or
be there for him, if there’s anything he’s going through, that’s what I kind of
told him and he was very respectful and tremendously fun to watch the next
night.
S-R: Will
you change your season prediction of the Cougars after wins over Wyoming and
SJSU?
RL:
(Laughs again) No, I had them winning these two games. I had them beating
Eastern Washington. I think after seeing Arizona play, there might be a fifth
win in there. I don’t know, they have to prove something to me and this
weekend’s going to be a proving point because Eastern beat them two years ago
and that quarterback (Gage Gubrud), it was his first start ever. So he’s got a
lot of experience now. But yeah I think they probably could get to six wins. If
that defense is able to stand up to the Pac-12, then definitely they might be
able to get there and possibly get to another bowl game – a fourth in a row,
which would be incredibly impressive. I think a six-win season this year would
be a good testament to what was ahead of them this year.
S-R: Could
you see this broadcast thing lasting a while?
RL: For
sure. What I took away from not only shadowing people last fall, but then also
getting the opportunity to do it last week was that A) I can be good at it and
B) I really want to do it. So those were kind of the two things I needed the
answers to and I think I found them, so definitely something I want to do the
further it gets down the line here.
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