Once Mighty Athlete Falls from Grace

Way back in his junior season at Washington State, Ryan Leaf was heralded as a top rate quarterback and a sure fire pro football quarterback. He showed great arm strength and leadership on the field, which was exactly what scouts were looking for. Of course Payton Manning, The Tennessee All-American had been garnishing most of the media attention, but some believed Ryan had the skills and mindset to pass him up on the professional level.

In his last college game, Leaf was going to be able to showcase his talents in the Granddaddy of Them Alll, The Rose Bowl, against the an undefeated Michigan team which had, on average, only allowed 8 points per game with the help of Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson. If Leaf could perform well in this game, and crush the Wolverines National Championship dreams, maybe he could pass up Payton for the first wound pick.

It was not to be. Ryan had a so-so game in their loss to Michigan, which went on to share the National Championship with Nebraska. He soon decided he'd skip his senior season and try his luck in the National Football League. But this was just the beginning of his missteps and downward spiral.

Ryan was drafted in the top three of the 1998 Draft by the San Diego Chargers, behind Manning (who went first to Indianapolis), but ahead of Woodson (fourth to Oakland). He arrived to the training camp with a sense of hope surrounding him. He would surely be able to spark new life into the Chargers, just as he had done with Washington State. With the impressive numbers he had put up there he could surely do no wrong.

His first year though was bad at best. He struggled tremendously on the field, with several off the field incidents as well, which included cursing out reporters in the lockeroom. Some wrote the bad season off to it being his first year. But when the next season was the same, hope in Leaf began to dwindle. Ryan also began to fall back in the lineup, and quietly vacated the starting position. A few years later he retired for the sport, leaving a legacy as one of the worst first round draft busts in the history of the sport.

Ryan's problems didn't stop there. He bounced around from job to job, looking for work, when he finally seemed to find something as an assistant coach. But that's didn't last and with his most recent incident, Ryan has become nothing more that a waist of God-given talent. On Friday it's been reported he will give himself up to police on drug and burglary charges. The final fall in his plunge from grace.

For Ryan it was a only a brief moment in the light before and long downfall which doesn't seem to be stopping any time soon. My he has realized where he went wrong. Or Maybe not. But hopefully somewhere along the line he'll be able to put a few of the pieces back together and get on with his life, without sinking any further.