Coach, Leaf Walk The Talk Price’s Recruiting Pitch Promised A Rose Bowl; Qb Took Him Up On It

Ryan Leaf and Mike Price have had a lot of interesting conversations over the years. All were made possible by one phone call Price made on New Year’s Day 1994.

Leaf was at his home in Great Falls, Mont., watching UCLA and Wisconsin scrap in the Rose Bowl.

“Coach Price goes, ‘If you come to Washington State, we’ll be playing there, I promise you,”’ Leaf said. “It was something really simple and something a lot of coaches could have said.

“Two days later, I walked into my parents’ bedroom and told them, ‘I’m going to Washington State.”’

And now he’s going to the Rose Bowl. Price, too.

Leaf passed for 358 yards and two touchdowns in the Cougars’ Pasadena-clinching 41-35 win over Washington at Husky Stadium on Saturday. His UW counterpart Brock Huard threw for 283 yards and four touchdowns, but WSU turned his five interceptions into 24 points.

“As a competitor, it eats at you,” Huard said. “He made some plays, his receivers made some plays. They got some calls. They got some bounces. They got everything.”

Including the respect of most of Huard’s teammates. Before kickoff, Leaf and UW defensive end Jason Chorak exchanged friendly barbs. From across the field, Chorak pointed at Leaf, who responded by pointing back.

“That’s friendly. He’s smiling at me and I’m smiling back at him,” Leaf said. “It’s total competition and that’s what makes it fun. He’d a been a great Cougar, he and Jerry Jensen, because they play with so much heart.”

Afterward, Chorak pointed out Leaf’s classy demeanor.

“I respect good players,” Chorak said. “He respects me because he knows I’m a class player and when I was down, he would help me up. When I knocked him down, I would help him up.”

UW linebacker Lester Towns wasn’t as complimentary.

“He’s a great quarterback, but I think Brock Huard is a little better,” said Towns, getting a head start on Apple Cup ‘98 hype. “We didn’t hit him enough. He had time to throw.”

Imagine what Leaf might have done with a healthy thumb. He hit a helmet with his right thumb following through on a pass on the game’s first series. It didn’t seem to alter the swift arrival of his passes.

Safely protected by the self-styled Fat Five (the WSU offensive line), Leaf easily found his Fab Five (receivers).

“They did play a little more zone,” Leaf said. “You can’t sit back there and let me throw the football. With these receivers making pinpoint stops in the zones, it’s pretty easy to find them.”

“The line gave him so much time,” said former Cougars quarterback Jack Thompson. “Ryan was standing there. When he steps through that ball like a pitcher following through, there ain’t nobody better.”

Huard warmed up after halftime, passing for 217 of his 283 yards. He hit Fred Coleman for a 38-yard score that pulled UW within 24-14. Then Leaf hung a pass over the middle that was intercepted by Tony Parrish. He returned it 32 yards for a TD and suddenly WSU’s lead was 24-21.

Which led to another intriguing sideline discussion.

“I think it went something like, ‘Damn it, that was my fault, that was a bad call,”’ Price told his quarterback. “And Leaf goes, ‘Yeah.’

“He didn’t say that, but he said it with his eyes and his mannerisms. He’s a beauty. Last week, he comes up to me, ‘I’m hot, I’m on, let me throw it.’ He’s a classic.”

Following the interception, Leaf completed 2 of 3 passes to fuel a scoring drive that ended with a 50-yard TD connection to Chris Jackson.

“Nobody said a thing,” Jackson said of the pre-drive discussion. “We knew we were getting in the huddle and going to drive down the field. We never got down and started pointing fingers. We just came together like a fist.”

Price and Leaf shared emotional embraces on the field and on the podium as they were awarded the Apple Cup trophy. They’ve been through much - Leaf’s growing pains as a freshman and sophomore, Chad Davis’ me-first hissy fit and, finally, Leaf’s salad days as a team leader.

“He (Price) could be making a half-million (dollars) in Minnesota freezing his butt off, but he’s loyal and sticks by his word and his players,” Leaf said. “He’s somebody I want in my life forever. I love the guy, and that was for him today.”

In other words, thanks for the call a couple years ago.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 3 Color Photos

MEMO: These 2 sidebars appeared with the story:

1. PASSERS COMPARED Ryan Leaf Touchdowns 2 Pass attempts 38 Completions 22 Interceptions 1 Completion percentage 57.9% Passing yards 358

Brock Huard Touchdowns 4 Pass attempts 36 Completions 18 Interceptions 5 Completion percentage 50% Passing yards 283

2. FOR THE RECORD Washington State quarterback Ryan Leaf finished the 1997 season with a pocketful of Pac-10 records. His 33 touchdown passes broke the season record of 31 set by California’s Pat Barnes last year. He also finished with 3,637 passing yards this season, breaking the record of 3,627 set in 1993 by Steve Stenstrom of Stanford. He became the league’s single-season total offense leader with 3,583 yards, breaking Barnes’ record of 3,416. His 58 career touchdown passes leave him in a sixth-place tie with Rob Johnson of USC. John Elway of Stanford holds the record of 77. -Associated Press