Baseball or Football for Kyler Murray? Bronco Draft Choice Rick Leach Picked Baseball

Today Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray will decide whether to enter the NFL draft or stick to his baseball contract with the Oakland A's.  Murray is a star in both sports so the decision is not an easy one.

Murray's dilemma brought back memories of the Broncos fifth round draft choice in 1979 - quarterback Rick Leach.  Leach was a baseball and football star at the University of Michigan.  He finished third in the Heisman trophy balloting at the end of his senior season.  Different than Murray, Leach was first drafted by the Broncos, and then by the Detroit Tigers one month later (13th pick of the first round).

The appeal of playing for his home town Tigers was too much for Leach as he relayed in this 2017 interview with Mlive: "At that time, where I could stay in my home state and play if I made the Major Leagues, and where family and friends could see me was appealing," Leach said. "When I looked at the longevity factor, the injury factor and everything, I never regretted one thing about that decision."  Turns out Leach did reach the majors but was mostly a backup in his nine seasons for various teams (he was released by the Tigers after three seasons)

But what if Leach had chosen football instead?  Bronco coach Red Miller was said to have been impressed with Leach in rookie minicamp before the two sport star picked baseball.  Perhaps Leach would have been a worthy successor to the aging Craig Morton as the Broncos starter, Miller wouldn't have made the failed Matt Robinson trade in 1980 in search for a starting quarterback, and Red would have kept his job instead of being replaced by Dan Reeves as Broncos head coach in 1981.

It all worked out in the end for the Broncos, for if Leach had been a successful multiyear starter for the team they may not have traded for John Elway after the 1983 draft.  Still it would have been interesting to see how Leach would have fared with the Broncos.  "I thought I had a skill level that I would have liked to try and see what would have happened," Leach said in his Mlive interview. "But the offense I ran at Michigan and what I would have needed to play in the NFL was significantly different. But I would have loved the opportunity just to kind of prove to myself to see if I could have done it."