SEATTLE – Almost three dozen players still remain on the UW roster from the last time Ryan Leaf came to speak to the team prior to the start of the college football season.

The former Washington State quarterback and No. 2 overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft has spent the past five years traveling to different programs across the country to share his story. His past is well documented, and the name Leaf alone garners a reaction of some sort from most people.

On Aug. 11, 2018, Leaf spoke to the team when Chris Petersen was the head coach. Jimmy Lake, who was the Huskies defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at the time, was one of six assistant coaches that still remain within the program.

One of his standout players, sophomore cornerback Elijah Molden, was struck by the power of the message Leaf gave. As fate would have it the team went on to finish the 2018 season 10-4, which saw UW play in its first Rose Bowl since 2001.

Molden went on to be a 2x first-team All-Pac-12 selection (2019-20) and was named to the All-Pac-12 second-team the year Leaf spoke to the team. He was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the third-round of the 2021 NFL Draft (No. 100 overall).

After he was drafted, Elijah told his father, Alex Molden, a former Oregon Duck and first-round pick by the New Orleans Saints in the 1996 NFL Draft, how much impact the talk from Leaf had.

That message got conveyed to Lake.

The night before Pac-12 Media Day last month he got the chance to see Leaf in person. As the two caught up Lake brought up that he felt enough time had passed since he came to speak to the team and wanted him to come back up before this season to share his story, again.

Leaf’s story is rather common at its core. A person, who has great natural ability but gets lost along the way due to decisions and choices that are made and is forced to face the consequences. All of it is academic.

What is unique is the presentation. That he attributes to being authentic.

“No matter who you have come speak to your team,” Leaf said, “everyone – if they’re doing it right – has a similar message around consequences, controlling what you can control and winning one step at a time.

“My speech is not a bunch of clichés. It’s not a power point. It’s raw. It’s transparent. It’s vulnerable. And it’s something that’s needed in locker rooms, where for decades vulnerability and transparency wasn’t a part of it, and I think that’s changing. So, it really coincides with what the coaches feel like would be beneficial in my message that’s already there.”

Leaf spent Monday around the team and with Lake, soaking in the vibe of this Huskies team and aligning it with what the right message should be.

One point in particular that sticks with Leaf when it comes to public speaking is knowing your audience. To stand in front of 18 to 22-year old young men in a slick tailored suit would simply not resonate the same way as wearing a light black athletic shirt with the signature Bow Down painted in gold across the chest.

Even as a Cougar alum.

With that emphasis on the receiver – the audience in the room – and not the signal-caller, Leaf, also is conscious of delivering the right message. His point is not don’t do what I did, but rather why are you doing it and more importantly how are you leading down the right path?

“I think a lot of people takeaway of my downfall after the fact as like, don’t do this,” he said.

“There’s a lot of motivation, in terms of what to do to compete to get to that place. I ask the question at the end of the day; you will think after you hear this that’s a great story, but that’s not going to be me. Well, which part?

“You’re not going to be the second overall draft pick millionaire at 21? Or the drug addict felon in the gutter at the end? Both things can be true. It’s a story of a life. Just like any of them had led. They’ve all overcome adversity to get to where they’re at.”

Leaf makes the distinction clear.

“The fact that I wear their gear is exactly about them. It has nothing to do with me. If I’m going to stand up and talk about vulnerability in front of a group of people, then I should be willing to throw on their colors. I don’t think it would have the same impact if they just viewed a guy as a Cougar up there talking to them. I just don’t believe that to be true. So, for those people that don’t get it, that don’t understand why, they’re never going to get it and that’s too bad for them.”

Some fans on social media might not understand, but Lake make it clear the message had a resounding impact on everyone in the program.

“Our team, our staff, everybody that was in that room – our coaches. We all walked to that meeting room with a bunch of notes and a bunch of takeaways that’s going to help us in our own lives,” Lake said.

“It was great to have him. How about this: at the very end of it he gave his phone number out to everybody and said, ‘if you ever need anything reach out to me’. That was a really cool thing to do. Really, I think our guys could connect with him because he was real and he just shot it straight.

Lake also teased at a potential Apple Cup photo wager the two made.

“We’ll see – there is a picture out there. We’re going to see if it gets released by me or him. We’ll see who releases it first. But it’s a pretty good one. We might have to wait now maybe closer to November. But, thank you Ryan Leaf. Really appreciate it. It was awesome.”