Ryan Leaf Visits Montana State Prison Inmates

This time, he entered the barbed wire-lined fortress voluntarily and feeling like a brand-new man since his last arrival.

Leaf was back to speak about his journey — from the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft to an inmate at the MSP — to participants of The Last Mile, a program that prepares incarcerated individuals for life after prison through business and technology training.

“I’m not going to lie, it was uncomfortable coming through the gate, seeing the intake place and the track. It kind of made me sick to my stomach,” Leaf said in an interview with 406 MT Sports after the talk.

“But then it also helps to course correct and make me understand, like this isn’t about me, so ‘Get over yourself Ryan, no one cares that you’re feeling uncomfortable, let’s go help some people who need it more than you,’ and that’s what was important about this.”

Leaf, 48, spoke about his story for over an hour, from his days as the star quarterback at Great Falls CMR to his tough times after a five-year NFL career that began with the San Diego Chargers.

Ultimately, burglary, theft and drug charges in 2012 led Leaf under the same roof as the inmate students he spoke to on Wednesday morning.

And in a computer-filled classroom that inmates typically use to learn coding and other skills, the participants of The Last Mile were dialed in on what Leaf had to say. A former inmate speaking with a group of current inmates, it was a group that can relate to each other.

“It’s really, really nice to see someone who has literally been to this prison and has been in our shoes actually be successful. And not just successful in the financial or not-coming-back-to-prison aspect, but successful in having satisfaction with who he is and where he’s going. It gives us some hope for ourselves,” The Last Mile inmate student Falken Brown said.

“I think it helps for me to step in that room and tell them I relate and identify with them probably better than anybody out in the public. That I was exactly where they were 10 years ago and you could have the life of your dreams,” Leaf said.

At the end of the talk, Leaf answered questions and inmates shared their gratitude.

“This has been such an inspiration to get the raw, uncut Ryan Leaf,” The Last Mile inmate student Sean Kelledy told Leaf.

“I don’t feel so alone today,” he continued.

Since his release, Leaf has made an effort to help those dealing with addiction and mental health issues. He’s currently working at ESPN as a college football analyst and broadcaster.

Just like he urged the participants of The Last Mile, their life isn’t over because of what they’ve done in the past.

And ever since Leaf walked out of the MSP on Dec. 3, 2014, he has learned how great life after prison can be.

“A dream. An absolute dream,” Leaf said of his nine and a half years since being released.

“It’s the life of my dreams. I used to think that being a professional athlete and a football player, that’s what it’s about. And it’s not. This is certainly it.”