Chris Leak - College Career

College Career

Leak received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Ron Zook and coach Urban Meyer's Florida Gators football teams from 2003 to 2006. Leak was known for his quiet leadership as a quarterback, and was elected a team captain by his teammates two of his four years as a Gator.

Leak began his career at Florida as a freshman, seeing playing time in the first few games, and taking over as the starter in the game against the Kentucky Wildcats. Leak finished his freshman year with a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record for a freshman, posting a 6–3 record as a starter, including wins over the eventual national champion LSU Tigers and the rival Georgia Bulldogs. Leak was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and Rivals.com's Freshman All-America Team.

During his sophomore season in 2004, Leak's 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 the South Carolina Gamecocks. However, following a disappointing loss to the unranked Mississippi State Bulldogs and an on-campus confrontation with fraternity members, head coach Ron Zook was fired. After Zook was fired, Leak was rumored to be considering a transfer.

In December 2004, Urban Meyer replaced Ron Zook as Florida's head coach and introduced Meyer's spread offense to the Gators. Dan Mullen was introduced as the new offensive coordinator— Leak's third offensive coordinator in three years. Heading into his 2005 junior season, Leak had to learn his third offensive scheme in as many years, but was touted as a possible Heisman Trophy candidate. Leak won his first five games, including a big win over the SEC East rival Tennessee Volunteers, but struggled in the option portion of the Meyer's offense. Since 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.

Before the beginning of his 2006 senior season, there was speculation that Leak might not be the Gators' starting quarterback due to the emergence of talented freshman Tim Tebow. Instead, Meyer publicly endorsed Leak as the starting quarterback and confirmed Tim Tebow would be the back-up. Preseason analysis projected that Florida would have the hardest schedule in the country, including back-to-back games against Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, LSU, Auburn and Georgia. 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 (the Gators' first championship game appearance since 1996). Leak also broke many Gators' passing records set by Heisman Trophy-winner Danny Wuerffel, including Wuerffel's record for career passing yards set during the 2006 SEC championship game.

Leak led the Florida Gators to their second consensus national championship with a 41–14 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes on January 8, 2007, taking home the offensive Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for the game. His performance was solid throughout the BCS championship game, completing his first nine passes at the start of the game, and finishing with twenty-five completions in thirty-six attempts for 213 yards and one touchdown.

Leak was listed on the SEC Academic Honor Roll each year he attended Florida, and was a finalist for the Draddy Trophy, also known as the "Academic Heisman" for college football players. He graduated from the University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with a bachelor's degree in sociology, with honors, in December 2006, and was a keynote speaker during the graduation ceremony.

Leak is remembered for volunteering with children in the Goodwill Gators Program, encouraging them to put school first and avoid drug use. At home in Charlotte, North Carolina, he also worked with the Boys and Girls Club and the Steele Creek Youth Athletic Association, served as an inspirational speaker with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and spoke at area middle schools encouraging students to stay focused on their goals.