Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. | May 3, 1985
Playing career | |
1999–2002 | Independence HS (NC) |
2003–2006 | Florida |
2007 | Chicago Bears* |
2008 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
2008–2010 | Montreal Alouettes |
2011 | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
2012 | Jacksonville Sharks |
2012 | Orlando Predators |
Position(s) | Quarterback |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
2013 | Florida (GA) |
2014 | Florida (WR) |
2016 | Edgewater HS (FL) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Awards | |
| |
Christopher Patrick Leak (born May 3, 1985) is an American football coach and former gridiron football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Florida, and led the Florida Gators to victory in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game. Leak played professionally for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and the Jacksonville Sharks and Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League (AFL).
Leak was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1985. [1] Leak received national attention as an 8th grader in 1998 when Wake Forest coach Jim Caldwell, who had just signed his older brother, C. J., offered him a college football scholarship. [2] He attended Independence High School in Charlotte, where he played for the Independence Patriots high school football team. [1] In four years as the Patriots' starting quarterback, Leak led his team to three consecutive North Carolina 4-A state championships. [1] He set North Carolina state records for passing yards in a career (15,593) and completions in a career (1,013), as well as the national record for touchdown passes in a career (185). He is considered by some to be the greatest high school quarterback of all time. [1] He was recognized as a Parade magazine All-American as well as Parade's Player of the Year in 2003. [1] The Scout.com recruiting service ranked Leak as a five-star prospect and the third-best quarterback in the 2003 recruiting class. [1]
Leak accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, [1] where he played for coach Ron Zook and coach Urban Meyer's Florida Gators football teams from 2003 to 2006. [1] 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. [3]
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. Leak received second-team All-SEC honors.
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. [4] 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 Buckeyes (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 again received second-team All-SEC honors.
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. [3] He graduated from the University of Florida 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.
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 ft 11+7⁄8 in (1.83 m) | 209 lb (95 kg) | 31+3⁄4 in (0.81 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 4.79 s | 1.66 s | 2.71 s | 4.41 s | 7.03 s | 32.5 in (0.83 m) | 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) | ||
All values from NFL Combine [5] [6] |
Leak was not selected during the 2007 NFL draft. The Chicago Bears signed him immediately after the draft. [7] He spent the summer of 2007 working with the team, and training under former Gator quarterback Rex Grossman. [8] However, Leak only saw playtime during the final game of the preseason, where he completed eleven of sixteen passes for 88 yards, an interception and a touchdown. [9] He was eventually cut from the Bears' roster on September 16, 2007.
For the 2008 season, Leak tried out with the Kansas City Chiefs.
In November 2007, Leak announced his intentions to play for Team Florida in the All American Football League. [10] He was later drafted in the 6th round by Team Florida. Lacking start-up capital and with low ticket sales, the AAFL's first season was postponed until 2009 (and later canceled). Leak, like all AAFL players, was released from his contract.
On June 3, 2008, Leak signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. [11] He was claimed by the Montreal Alouettes on June 9 after being released a day earlier. With backup quarterback Adrian McPherson injured, Leak was on the active roster for the August 21, 2009, match against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, in which he threw his first CFL touchdown pass on his first play. [12] The Montreal Alouettes went on to win the Grey Cup in 2009.
On August 19, 2010, in a game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Montreal starting quarterback, Anthony Calvillo, got taken out with an injury which gave way to Leak to finish off the game. Leak would lead the Alouettes to a 39–17 win over the Bombers. Leak made his first CFL start at quarterback on September 3, 2010, against the BC Lions. However, he was on the short end of a 38–17 score, going 15-for-27 for 135 yards with two interceptions and a fumble. Leak suffered an apparent injury early in the fourth quarter and did not return. The Montreal Alouettes went on to win the Grey Cup in 2010.
On May 5, 2011, Leak signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders as a free agent. [13] On June 25, 2011, Leak was cut from the Roughriders.
On September 26, 2011, Leak signed with the ArenaBowl XXIV champion Jacksonville Sharks, replacing star quarterback Aaron Garcia, who joined the San Antonio Talons for the 2012 Arena Football League season. [14] In his only game with the Sharks, Leak completed 21-of-31 passes for 196 yards and five touchdowns in a 52–28 victory over the Kansas City Command. After it was announced that Garcia's former backup, Omar Jacobs, would start the next game, Leak was suspended after skipping the following team practice. [15] On April 10, 2012, he was placed on the left squad list, effectively ending his time with the Sharks. [16] On April 23, 2012, Leak signed with the Orlando Predators. [17]
Leak worked as a host on SiriusXM College Sports Coast-to-Coast multiple nights each week during the 2012 college football season, along with co-host Chris Childers.
Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp added Leak as a quality control coach in May 2013. Leak became a graduate assistant, helping coach the team's offense. [18] Leak was promoted to the position of wide receivers coach in May 2014. [19]
Leak worked in football development and youth outreach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015. He was hired as the head coach of the football team at Edgewater High School in Orlando, Florida, in February 2016. [20] Following an 0–5 start, Leak resigned on October 4. [21] The next day, it was reported that Leak was under investigation by the Orlando Police Department for possible sexual assault of a minor. [22] The police later confirmed their investigation and provided their report to Deadspin. [23] In October 2016, the 16-year-old victim declined to press charges and the investigation was closed. [24]
In 2017, Leak founded Air Strike Passing Academy, a quarterback development program. He currently lives in Orlando, Florida. [25]
The Florida–Georgia football rivalry is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the University of Florida Gators and the University of Georgia Bulldogs, both members of the Southeastern Conference - divisions were removed from the Southeastern Conference beginning with the 2024 football season. The programs first met in 1904 or 1915 and have played every season since 1926 except for a war-time interruption in 1943. It is one of the most prominent rivalry games in college football, and it has been held in Jacksonville, Florida since 1933, with only two exceptions, making it one of the few remaining neutral-site rivalries in college football. The game attracts huge crowds to Jacksonville, and the associated tailgating and other events earned it the nickname of the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party", although that name is no longer officially used.
Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nickname, "the Head Ball Coach". He played college football as a quarterback for the Florida Gators, where he won the 1966 Heisman Trophy. The San Francisco 49ers selected him in the first round of the 1967 NFL draft, and he spent a decade playing in the National Football League (NFL) mainly as a backup quarterback and punter. Spurrier was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986.
Urban Frank Meyer III is an American sportscaster and former college football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green Falcons from 2001 to 2002, the Utah Utes from 2003 to 2004, the Florida Gators from 2005 to 2010, and the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2012 to 2018. He retired from coaching in 2019 at the end of the Rose Bowl, and stayed at Ohio State as an assistant athletic director and was also an analyst for Fox Sports, appearing weekly on their Big Noon Kickoff pregame show. In 2021, Meyer came out of retirement to take his first National Football League (NFL) job as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, but was fired 13 games into his first and only season, after going 2–11 and being involved in both on- and off-field controversies. He then went back to Fox Sports to resume his broadcasting career.
Michael Shane Matthews is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for all or part of fourteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. He played college football for the Florida Gators, where he was both a second-team All-American and SEC player of the year in 1991 and 1992. Thereafter, he played professionally for the Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins, and four other NFL teams. Since retiring as a player, Matthews has lived near his college alma mater in North Central Florida, where he has hosted a sports talk radio program and coached high school football. In 2017, Matthews was incarcerated for three months in a federal prison upon pleading guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge of causing a drug to be misbranded, after playing a small part in a large health care fraud conspiracy organized by former Florida teammate Monty Grow.
The 2006 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2006 college football season. The Gators competed in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The season was the second for head coach Urban Meyer, who led the Gators to an SEC Championship, a BCS National Championship, and an overall win–loss record of 13–1 (.929). Their one loss coming from an upset by the Auburn Tigers.
Harry Ingle Martin IV is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) during the late 2000s. Martin played college football for the Florida Gators and Furman Paladins, and thereafter, he was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL draft. He was also a member of the Tennessee Titans, Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos of the NFL, and the New York Sentinels of the United Football League (UFL). After his playing career, Martin became the head football coach for Christ Presbyterian Academy, a private preparatory school in Nashville, Tennessee.
The 2007 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game was an American football game played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on January 8, 2007, and featured the top-ranked Big Ten champion Ohio State Buckeyes against the 2nd-ranked SEC champion Florida Gators. The Gators routed the Buckeyes by a final score of 41–14 to win their first national championship since 1996.
The 2007 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gators competed in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. It was the third season for head coach Urban Meyer, who led the Gators to a Capital One Bowl berth and an overall win–loss record of 9–4 (.692).
Dallas Leon Baker is an American former professional football wide receiver. He played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter played professionally for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL), the Montreal Alouettes and Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and the Jacksonville Sharks and San Antonio Talons of the Arena Football League (AFL). As a member of the Steelers, he won Super Bowl XLIII against the Arizona Cardinals. Baker is currently the wide receivers coach at Baylor University.
Brandon T. Siler is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. He played college football for the University of Florida, where he was a member of the Gators' 2006 national championship team. He was chosen by the San Diego Chargers in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL draft, and also played for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Kerwin Douglas Bell is an American football coach and former player who has been the head coach of the Western Carolina Catamounts football team since 2021. He played professionally as a quarterback for 14 seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL), World League of American Football (WLAF), and the National Football League (NFL) from the late 1980s until 2002. He then went into coaching, first at the high school level before moving to the collegiate ranks in 2007.
The Florida–Florida State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the teams of the two oldest public universities of the U.S. state of Florida: the University of Florida (UF) Gators and Florida State University (FSU) Seminoles. Both universities participate in a range of intercollegiate sports, and for the last several years, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has sponsored a "Sunshine Showdown" promotion that tallies the total number of wins for each school in head-to-head sports competition. However, the annual football game between the Gators and Seminoles has consistently been the most intense and notable competition between the in-state rivals.
The 2008 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gators competed in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and played their home games in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida, campus. They were led by fourth-year head coach Urban Meyer.
The Florida–Tennessee football rivalry, also called the Third Saturday in September, is an American college football rivalry between the Florida Gators football team of the University of Florida and Tennessee Volunteers football team of the University of Tennessee, who first met on the football field in 1916. The Gators and Vols have competed in the same athletic conference since Florida joined the now-defunct Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1910, and the schools were founding members of the Southeastern Conference in 1932. Despite this long conference association, a true rivalry did not develop until the early 1990s due to the infrequency of earlier meetings; in the first seventy-six years (1916–91) of the series, the two teams met just twenty-one times. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) expanded to twelve universities and split into two divisions in 1992. Florida and Tennessee were placed in the SEC's East Division and have met on a home-and-home basis every season since. Their rivalry quickly blossomed in intensity and importance in the 1990s and early 2000s as both programs regularly fielded national championship contending teams under coaches Phil Fulmer of Tennessee and Steve Spurrier at Florida.
The 1993 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was the fourth for Steve Spurrier as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. The Gators compiled a 10–2 overall record.
Eric Joel Kresser is an American former college and professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) for five seasons during the 1990s and early 2000s. Kresser played college football for the University of Florida and Marshall University, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL and the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL.
The Florida–LSU football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Florida Gators football team of the University of Florida and LSU Tigers football team of Louisiana State University. Although both universities were founding members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in December 1932, the Gators and Tigers did not meet on the gridiron until 1937, and have been annual opponents only since 1971. When the SEC instituted divisional play in 1992, Florida was placed in the SEC Eastern Division and LSU in the Western Division, and Florida and LSU were selected as permanent cross-division rivals. The Gators and Tigers have combined to win five national championships and eleven SEC titles over the past two decades.
The Auburn–Florida football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Auburn Tigers football team of Auburn University and Florida Gators football team of the University of Florida which was first played in 1912. The schools have been members of the same athletic conference for over a century and were founding members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) when it was established in 1933. The contest was an annual tradition from 1945 until 2002, when the SEC expanded and the rivalry became part of a rotation of other conference games. Since then, the teams have met only four times.
Christopher Rainey is an American former professional football running back and kick returner who played in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the University of Florida, and was a member of Florida's BCS National Championship team in 2009. The Pittsburgh Steelers selected him in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL draft. He also played for the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL and the Montreal Alouettes, BC Lions and Toronto Argonauts of the CFL.
The history of Florida Gators football began in 1906, when the newly established "University of the State of Florida" fielded a football team during its first full academic year of existence. The school's name was shortened to the University of Florida in 1908, and the football team gained the nickname "Gators" in 1911. The program started small, usually playing six to eight games per season against small colleges and local athletic club teams in north Florida and south Georgia. The Orange and Blue developed early rivalries with the Stetson Hatters from nearby Deland and Mercer Bears from Macon. During the 1910s, Florida began playing a wider range of opponents from more established football programs across the southeastern United States and faced off against several future rivals - such as Georgia, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, and Auburn - for the first time.