Former second overall pick NFL Draft pick turned college football analyst Ryan Leaf had high praise for Calgary Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson for his time with the Montana Grizzlies.
The 47-year-old Leaf was a guest on The Dan Patrick show and said that Dickenson was “the greatest quarterback in college football history to come out of Montana.”
Leaf then went on to say that Dickenson was a “college football Hall of Famer, Walter Payton Award winner (as the outstanding offensive player in the FCS), and went up and won a Grey Cup in the CFL. He grew up a block away from me and was my hero growing up.”
Dickenson is three years older than Leaf. The two quarterbacks grew up in Great Falls, MT and attended Charles M. High School. Dickenson stayed in his home state for his collegiate career, where he owns numerous Big Sky Conference and University of Montana records.
With the Grizzlies, Dickenson threw for 13,486 yards and 116 touchdowns with a 68.7 career completion percentage while setting numerous NCAA, conference and school records. In 1995, he led Montana to an NCAA I-AA National Championship. That led to Dickenson being known as “Super Dave” in the state and having his jersey retired by the university. He was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
Dickenson then played ten seasons with the Calgary Stampeders and B.C. Lions where he threw for 22,913 yards and 154 touchdowns. He was the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in 2000, was a two-time West Division All-Star in 2000 and 2003.
He won two Grey Cups in 1998 and 2006, taking home Grey Cup MVP honours after the Lions won the 94th edition of the championship game. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2015. Dickenson also spent four seasons in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins, and Detroit Lions.
The 50-year-old Dickenson has since become the head coach and general manager for the Stampeders. He has a coaching record of 89-40-2, winning CFL’s Coach of the Year in 2016 while adding a Grey Cup ring to his collection in 2018. Dickenson also has a pair of championship wins as the Stampeders offensive coordinator in 2008 and 2014.
Leaf on the other hand attended Washington State University where he started in 24 games for the Cougars, throwing for 7,433 yards and 59 touchdowns. He was named a first-team All-American, first-team PAC 10, PAC 10 Offensive Player of the Year and was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 1997. He was selected second overall in the 1998 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers, enduring a short-lived professional career while battling issues in his personal life.
Safe to say that the former NFL quarterback is a huge fan of the collegiate and CFL legend.
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