Chris Leak

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Chris Leak (born May 3, 1985) was an American football quarterback at the University of Florida. In 2006, he led the Florida Gators to a 13-1 record, which culminated with a BCS Championship 41-14 victory over the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.

[edit] Early life

Leak was one of the top players in the 2003 recruiting class (ranked #1 overall by ESPN), breaking virtually every high school passing record in the nation.^{[citation needed]} He chose to attend the University of Florida over other top programs such as University of Texas, Tennessee, Florida State, Notre Dame, USC, and Iowa.

In high school, Leak starred for Independence High School, in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was succeeded by Joe Cox, currently a quarterback with the University of Georgia.

[edit] College career

Chris began his career at Florida as a freshman, seeing playing time in the first few games, and took over as the starter in the game against Kentucky. Leak finished his freshman year with a Southeastern Conference record for a freshman going 6-3 as a starter including wins over the eventual National Champion, LSU and rival, Georgia. Chris was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and Rivals.com’s Freshman All American Team.

In his sophomore year, Chris' quarterback skills progressed, transforming him into one of the notable quarterbacks in college football. He started all of Florida’s games, including a memorable school record-tying six touchdown performance against South Carolina. However, following a disappointing loss to unranked Mississippi State and a on-campus confrontation with a fraternity house, head coach Ron Zook was fired. In December of that year, University of Utah head coach Urban Meyer was hired and introduced his “spread option” offense. Dan Mullen was introduced as the offensive coordinator. This would be the third offensive coordinator change for Leak.

Heading into his junior season, Leak had to learn a third offensive scheme in as many years. He was touted as a possible Heisman Trophy candidate. Chris won his first five games, including a big win over SEC East rival Tennessee, but struggled in the option portion of the offense. Being that Leak was a drop back passer and not the ideal choice to run Meyer's spread option offense, Meyer tweaked the offense to tailor it to Leak's abilities after the Gators struggled midway through its schedule. The result was successful with the team winning its last two games against ranked competition in 2005.

Heading into his senior season, there was unsubstantial speculation Leak may not be the starting quarterback in 2006 due to the emergence of freshman Tim Tebow^{[citation needed]}. This speculation proved false when Florida head coach, Urban Meyer, publicly endorsed Leak to be the starting quarterback and affirmed that Tim Tebow will play the back-up role. Preseason analysis showed that Florida had the hardest schedule in the country. Florida would have to play Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, LSU, Auburn, and Georgia in back to back weeks. With Chris' leadership and poise, Florida lost only to Auburn as a result of a questionable and controversial fumble by Leak that resulted in a Auburn victory. The 2006 season proved to be a redemption year for Leak: leading the Gators to their first SEC Championship since 2000, and a spot in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game against Ohio State University (their first championship game appearance since 1996). Leak also broke many passing records set by Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel. He eclipsed Wuerffel's record for career passing yards at Florida during the 2006 SEC championship.

Leak led the Florida Gators to their second National Championship win with a 41-14 victory over Ohio State on January 8, 2007, taking home the offensive MVP award for the game. Leak's performance was solid throughout the championship game, completing his first nine passes at the start of the game. His final games stats includes completing 25 of 36 passes for 213 yards and one touchdown-- sealing a University of Florida rout of Ohio State University.

Chris Leak graduated from the University of Florida in the Fall, 2006 semester with a degree in sociology from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He was a finalist for the Draddy trophy, also known as the Academic Heisman for college athletes. He was a keynote speaker during the graduation ceremony, an honor only a handful of individuals are allowed to participate in due to their achievements in college.

While in college, Leak was listed on the SEC Academic Honor Roll each semester at UF. His mentors describe him as possessing tremendous motivation, compassion and the unique ability to lead by example. His peers agreed and elected him team captain three of the four years he played at UF.

When he's not leading on the field, Leak volunteers with children through the Goodwill Gators Program, encouraging them to put school first and stay away from drugs if they want to succeed. At home in Charlotte, N.C., he works with the Boys and Girls Club and the Steel Creek Youth Athletic Association. He served as an inspirational speaker with the Federation of Christian Athletes and spoke at area middle schools encouraging students to stay focused on their goals.

[edit] External links

• Gators' Player Profile