GREAT FALLS, Mont. -- Saturday marked five years sober for previous WSU quarterback, Ryan Leaf.
On Saturday, Leaf tweeted about “hitting rock bottom” and how far he has come in the five years since.
Five years ago today I went to my rock bottom, PRISON! Today I'm 5 years sober and have the life of my dreams. @TranscendSL #ThankYou pic.twitter.com/eYYmOmxBQp
— Ryan D Leaf (@RyanDLeaf) April 1, 2017
Leaf was quarterback for Washington State University from 1995 to 1997 and led the Cougars to their first Pac-10 championship game. The Cougars ended up losing in the 1998 Rose Bowl but that did not end Leaf’s football career.
Leaf was widely considered one of the best players alongside Peyton Manning in the 1998 NFL draft. Leaf went on to play for the San Diego Chargers from 1998 to 2000. Leaf also played briefly for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys in 2001.
After being released by the Cowboys in May 2002, for poor play, a downhill spiral led Leaf to legal issues and drug use. In May 2009, Leaf was indicted on burglary and controlled-substance charges in Texas. He later plead guilty in April 2010 to seven counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of delivery ‘of a simulated controlled substance, all felonies.
In March 2012, he was arrested again on burglary, theft and drug charges in Montana. Four days after that incident, he was arrested again on burglary, theft, and two counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs. Leaf was later sentenced to seven years in custody at the Montana Department of Corrections with two years suspended if he were to abide by the conditions.
In 2014, Leaf was released from prison and placed under supervision of Great Falls Probation and Parole.
Today, Leaf celebrates how far he has come in five years.
