Ryan Leaf on his love for Gophers football: 'I was the first one on the boat.'

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per RandBall:

In the up and down life and career of Ryan Leaf, there have been greater claims to fame, but make no mistake the former Washington State star quarterback and No. 2 overall NFL pick turned ESPN analyst is pretty proud to say this: “I was the first one on the boat.”

Indeed, it was July 29 when Leaf released several college football predictions on Twitter. One of them had the Gophers winning the Big Ten West.

“When I got the job at ESPN, my bosses asked me to throw my hat in the ring and throw out some predictions around the country,” Leaf said in a phone interview this week. “So I published it and people laughed at me.”

Nobody is laughing now – not with the Gophers sitting at 8-0, including 5-0 in the Big Ten with a two-game lead in the Big Ten West heading into a huge November stretch that includes a showdown in two weeks with undefeated Penn State.

Perhaps only Gophers coach P.J. Fleck himself, with his “Row the Boat” mantra, was an earlier adopter when it came to Minnesota’s potential this season. But Leaf, who also put the Gophers in his preseason top 25 when such a thing seemed bold, says his prediction was based on studying and logic.

“I just started going through everyone’s schedule. When I got to Minnesota’s, I saw they didn’t play crossover games against Ohio State and Michigan. I saw they had home games against Nebraska, Penn State and Wisconsin,” he said. “I loved how they finished last year and love how P.J. Fleck has gone about (things) there and what he did at Western Michigan.”

Leaf said some of those things and more when he sent a video, at Fleck’s request, to the Gophers before the season started.

“I just said hey, the year we went to the Rose Bowl (after the 1997 season) all the media members picked us to finish seventh out of 10 teams in the Pac-10. We were the only ones who believed in ourselves and we did it,” said Leaf, noting some similarities between the two long-suffering programs and fan bases. Washington State’s Rose Bowl trip was its first in 67 years.

To say thanks, Fleck sent Leaf and his family a bunch of Minnesota gear. When Leaf was a guest host on Rich Eisen’s show a couple weeks ago, he donned a bright gold Gophers shirt and had Fleck on to talk about the team, adding to the connection.

http://www.startribune.com/ryan-lea...ll-i-was-the-first-one-on-the-boat/564056652/

Go Gophers!!
 

In a weird sort of way, Ryan Leaf being one of our biggest supporters in the National media is very fitting :)

Here's hoping we make him look really good by making his prediction of a West championship come true.
 

yeah Ryan Leaf is most known for being an epic bust. It's great hes RTBing but I dont think anybody is taking the guy that seriously. CFgWGVASGERJMBOKJMZCZSDVASD ::WHAT AN ELITE B1G WEST MIND::
 

yeah Ryan Leaf is most known for being an epic bust. It's great hes RTBing but I dont think anybody is taking the guy that seriously. CFgWGVASGERJMBOKJMZCZSDVASD ::WHAT AN ELITE B1G WEST MIND::

And yet more successful than...you.
 



yeah Ryan Leaf is most known for being an epic bust. It's great hes RTBing but I dont think anybody is taking the guy that seriously. CFgWGVASGERJMBOKJMZCZSDVASD ::WHAT AN ELITE B1G WEST MIND::

Odd statement. Ryan Leaf is actually has really good CFB takes. He's worth a listen now and then and following on Twitter anyway.
 

Pat Mc Affee a big fan, as well. Screen shot from the game tonight:

28719483-F956-4359-9245-10A10D0B6ACD.jpg
 

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Ryan Leaf was always a kid that I think the pressure got to him and it took control. Seeing him on tv now, he looks relaxed and "comfortable in his own skin". He looked out of place when things weren't going well in the NFL and the stress seemed to take over. He was a great college QB and to be good like that has to have a good mind. Nice to see him being one of, if not the, first national media to support The Original U.
 

Ryan Leaf, welcome to Maroon and Gold Country!
 






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