IMHO, Leak is plenty tough enough to be my starting QB seven days a week and twice on Sunday. Remember his freshman year against Arkansas? Remember how he rolled out, threw off-balance, off-one foot falling out of bounds and got summarily rocketed in the head by a lunging Razorback safety Tony Bua and the crown of his red helmet? Leak was dazed for a moment, then popped right up, did his little "I'm Chris Leak and I'm Fired" hop and finished that drive for a clinching score. That was a tough, nationally-ranked senior Matt Jones-led Arkansas team and Chris Leak delivered our team to a big win on the road. And, in that same freshman season on the road at LSU, Leak was tough as nails. Does anybody remember that Tiger defesnse in 2003? I think it was the best all-around defensive unit in college football in the past 10 years. That LSU team lost one game all season and pasted a high-powered Oklahoma team en route to the national title. The one game LSU lost? Yes, at home against the freshman QB-led Florida Gators. Leak was sacked SIX times in that game but still rallied Florida from a quick 7-0 deficit with 229 yards and 2 TDs against that vaunted top-ranked Tiger defense. Remember two seasons ago in Tallahasse when Chris scrambled for a key first down and then got absolutely punished by Seminole linebacker Ernie Sims? Leak landed upside down on his head after that brutal open-field hit. Sims stood over Leak, pounding his chest and exalting over his prey. I never thought Leak would get up, much less any other football player. Leak continued on and played a brilliant game throwing for 231 yards that night in an extremely hostile environment, and what happened? The Gators won at Florida State for the first time since 1986 and gave Ron Zook his brilliant coaching send-off on newly-named Bobby Bowden Field. Yes, there are times when Chris Leak has slid down prematurely to avoid a big hit by an oncoming tackler coming full-speed to try and knock him out of the game. And sure, there have been many times when I wish Leak would have lowered his head and tried to get those extra few yards. And no doubt, I was momentarily furious when he didn't dive forward for that key first down at Tennessee two weeks ago. But, Leak got up from that play and he knew right away he screwed up when he was short of the marker. He hit himself in the helmet and momentarily felt dejected because he knew he had let down his team, coaches, and us Gator fans. He took the blame! He didn't go back and bitch at his lineman for missing the key blocks that forced him to scramble in the first place. A punky, flakey, spikey-haired former QB at Florida State used to do that. Chris Leak could have chosen to attend any college in the nation out of high school. He chose my school and your school - UF. He immediately began studying the Florida playbook and watched film of Gator games while he was still a QB playing his senior season at Independence High in Charlotte. He visited Gainesville almost every weekend while still in high school to better familiarize himself with the coaches and players. He pledged to continue this commitment once he arrived at UF. And, he did... even to the point of sacrificing his own personal free time that I know each of us lived to the fullest when we were freshman and out on our own for the first time. He forgoed making new friendships and avoided finding a girlfriend just to become a better Gator quarterback. He was regularly kicked out of the film room while cramming to learn any nuance of the offense he may one day run. By game three of his freshman campaign, he passed up an underclassmen and has been under center for the Gators ever since. He has played hurt - sore arms and sprained ankles, but never once missed a game. Playing in the SEC for four years, that should be evidence enough that you are tough enough! He was forced to learn three different offenses in each of his first three seasons. The most recent one, almost a completely different system than he has lifelong been groomed to run. A grooming for which I'm sure he was always repeatedly told by his coaches to slide down and avoid taking the big hit. That's what they teach NFL QB's because they are precious commodities and they can't get hurt. Chris Leak's passing talents are a precious commodity! No one in college football has ever thrown a purer pass and a tighter spiral! Now he is poised to break almost every passing mark in school history - and that previous Gator QB pedigree isn't too shabby. Spurrier, Reaves, Peace, Matthews, Wuerffel, Grossman could toss it around a little. He has his team undefeated, ranked #5 in the country, was the top-rated passer in college football coming into Saturday, and is on the short-list for the favorites to win this December's Heisman Trophy. We Gator fans are living in a special time. We have a polite, special, talented, and unmistakingly dedicated young man leading our team. He could have left for NFL riches after last season, but he came back to give us one more year of greatness. Chris Leak will be leading our Gators for only maybe nine or ten more times, and then he's done. Yes, the future at Gator QB looks quite bright as we are fortunate enough to have another exceptional talent waiting on the sidelines. But, I suggest until that time, let's be very thankful for who we have leading our Gators right now. And I further suggest we cheer that young man loudly and unconditionally until the final tight spiral comes off his fingers wearing the Orange and Blue.