ESPN hires former Wazzu QB Leaf as college football analyst

Ryan Leaf has been hired by ESPN to be a college football analyst, another step in the remarkable comeback of the former Washington State star who has battled drug addiction and served time in prison.

Leaf will be paired with play-by-play announcer Clay Matvick and will mostly call games on ESPN2 and ESPNU. The former No. 2 overall NFL draft pick for the San Diego Chargers in 1998 worked for the Pac-12 Network last season and has been co-hosting a show on SiriusXM's Pac-12 channel.

Leaf finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1997 and led the Cougars to the Rose Bowl.

After a tumultuous four-year NFL career, Leaf's personal life fell apart. He spent two years in prison after being arrested in 2012 for breaking into a home in Montana to steal prescription drugs, and violating his Texas probation.

"Ryan has experienced the highs and lows in the game of football, putting him in a position to relate to a wide range of situations players can find themselves in," said Lee Fitting, ESPN's vice president of production. "He will be able to rely on those experiences — including an unbelievable college career where he was an All-American and Heisman Trophy finalist — in his analysis, making him a tremendous asset for our team."

Leaf told The AP on Saturday night that after he was released from prison in 2014 he tried to map out plans for his future and considered three paths: the entertainment industry, law school and sports casting. He took steps toward entering each one.

"I had a broadcast journalism degree from the Murrow School at Washington State so I had the ability to do it. Or at least the know-how. I just didn't know what I was going to do," Leaf said.

The 43-year-old Leaf, a native of Montana, said he reached out to former players who had made the...