Where Price Leads, Leaf May Follow WSU Quarterback Says Coach’s Future Could Play Role In Postseason Decision

Don’t be shocked if Washington State quarterback Ryan Leaf returns for his senior season, especially if coach Mike Price gets a new contract from athletic director Rick Dickson.

“What Rick does with coach Price will have a lot to do with it,” Leaf said Wednesday.

Price, the lowest-paid football coach in the Pacific-10 Conference, is scheduled to discuss his contract with Dickson after the season. The ninth-year WSU coach has three seasons remaining on a deal worth $110,000 per year in base salary.

Leaf’s comment was not intended as a threat to Dickson. In fact, Leaf said he has already made a tentative decision concerning the NFL, and there’s only a slight chance he will change his mind.

Leaf, a junior, plans to announce his intentions after the eighth-ranked Cougars (10-1) play top-ranked Michigan (11-0) in the Jan. 1 Rose Bowl.

As one of college football’s top NFL prospects, Leaf might command more than $8 million up front, plus millions more in salary. That reality, coupled with the potential for a rebuilding season at WSU in ‘98, has convinced many that Leaf will come out early.

“Everyone’s jumping the gun,” Leaf said. “The thing that pro football offers right now is money. I don’t need to support a family. I could wear jeans and T-shirts the rest of my life, and I will.”

Leaf’s family leads a middle-class life in Great Falls, Mont. His father, John, is an insurance executive. Marcia Leaf works as a registered nurse. Jeff, 18, and Brady, 12, are still in school.

“Over Thanksgiving, me and my dad made a list of all the reasons to stay and all the reasons to go,” Leaf said. “The list of reasons to stay was a lot longer. The only reasons to come out would be for the money and for the dream of playing pro football.”

Among the reasons Leaf might stay:

He would be a favorite next season to win the Heisman Trophy, awarded each season to the nation’s top college football player. Leaf could also set several school and Pac-10 career records.

As much as Leaf has reveled in WSU’s success as a team this season, he is also enamored by individual awards.

Leaf was thrilled this week when he was named winner of the Sammy Baugh Trophy, awarded to the nation’s best passer. Leaf is expected to fare no better than second or third when the more prestigious Heisman Trophy is awarded later this month.

“That trophy is so cool-looking,” Leaf marveled, glancing at a picture of the Heisman that appeared in USA Today. “I’d like to have one of those.”

Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning is expected to win the Heisman this season, in part because he came back for his senior season. Leaf and Manning have become friends over the phone this season, but Manning’s influence is unclear.

Leaf may feel obligated to set a good example for his younger brothers. Granted, Leaf is on schedule to graduate this spring, but that may not be enough to satisfy everyone.

Leaf’s mother, Marcia Leaf, has already cast her vote.

“Personally, there is nothing more that I would want for him than to continue to play at Washington State for another year and grow,” she said in an interview last month. “Will he ever be in a place that cared for him as much as they do right now?”

As corny as it may sound, Leaf describes the college experience as something without a price tag.

“The relationships and the people I’ve been associated with, the college experience and coach Price, those things are more emotionally (important) to me than the football aspect,” he said.

“Plus, with another year, coach Price could turn me into a great quarterback.”

There is at least one more way Leaf could profit from another year in Pullman: He could establish residency in Washington, allowing him to avoid the 10-percent income tax of his native Montana. That may sound like a stretch, but Leaf brought it up.

Leaf notes

Leaf and his family will go to Orlando, Fla., next week for the annual College Football Awards Show (Thursday, 5 p.m., ESPN). Leaf, who is a candidate for the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards, will take a red-eye flight that arrives early Wednesday morning. He will join other top players in making appearances at the ESPN Sports Club and Disney World… . The Downtown Athletic Club has yet to make formal invitations, but Leaf is expected to be among five players who will attend the Heisman ceremony Dec. 13. If invited, Leaf will fly from Orlando to New York… . Leaf will receive the Sammy Baugh Trophy at the 43rd All-Sports Awards Banquet, to be held Feb. 20 at the Touchdown Club of Columbus (Ohio)… . Leaf continues to wear a brace on his sore right thumb, but the swelling appears to have subsided. The injury, which occurred in the first quarter of the Apple Cup, is not expected to limit Leaf on Jan. 1. … Leaf took part in a national conference call Wednesday with Manning, Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson and Marshall receiver Randy Moss.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo