Good Stuff!!

It's great to be a Florida Gator By Chris Leak with Wayne Drehs Special to ESPN.com http://espn.go.com/recruiting/s/diary11leak0301.html Chris Leak's Recruiting Trail Commitment Leak verbally committed to the University of Florida I said from the beginning, when it came time to make my college decision, I'd follow my heart. So last Thursday, as I sat in my San Antonio hotel room with my Dad, papers scattered across the bed, I listened to what my heart told me. Then I told my Dad. "This is it," I said. "I want to be a Gator." He smiled, knowing it was the best situation for me. We had heard for a couple weeks that Rex Grossman was leaving and, to be honest, I had hoped he would stay, so I could learn from him. His decision wasn't a factor. I wanted to play for Ron Zook. He took a lot of criticism his first year, but I love the guy. I love his excitement. As my decision day neared, he sent me a detailed outline of what his plans were for me at Florida. It included when he thought I'd be ready to contribute and what he'd do to get me prepared for that day. I never asked for the letter, but he sent it. When he did, I asked two other schools -- Iowa and Florida State -- to do the same. I didn't ask Texas, because I knew the situation there -- they have Vincent Young. And I didn't ask USC because I didn't think I wanted to be that far from home, not to mention I wasn't sure if Norm Chow was going to stay at USC for my entire career. But with Iowa and Florida State, there were some uncertainties, so I asked what their plans were for me. I got the final letter from Iowa last week. And when I laid the three of them in front of me, it was clear that my heart was right -- Florida is the place for me. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean the recruiting process is over. In the beginning, somebody told me that once you verbally commit, that's when recruiting really starts -- that's when the other schools know who the enemy is. But I'm here to tell you: I'm a Gator. Coaches can call, coaches can talk, but unless they're offering congratulations, I don't plan on listening. We unplugged the answering machine on my private recruiting line and my Dad's cell phone is no longer receiving voice mail. Not to say coaches aren't trying. I had one coach call my Dad's hotel room the night I announced my decision, trying to get me to change my mind. It didn't happen. It's not going to happen. I'm a Gator. Chris Leak and his arm are heading to Gainesville. One of the best parts of finalizing my decision was calling coach Zook to tell him the news. Like a lot of people, he watched my announcement at halftime of the U.S. Army All-American Game. But it was still great to pick up the phone Monday, get coach on his cell and talk to him for the first time as one of his players. The excitement in his voice made me smile. He told me it was great to have me and he can't wait to get things rolling next year. My Dad helped me with my speech and coach Zook especially liked the part where I asked the nation's best high school players to join me in my quest to bring another national championship to Florida. After the announcement, I had a couple guys come up to me and basically tell me that they were now going to give the Gators a look because I was going there. I told them it'd be great to have you. I explained that coach Zook is somebody that will take care of them and is coach you can trust. You can believe I'm going to keep a little friend list nearby, just to say Hi to these guys as decision time hits over the next month. When I returned to school on Tuesday, everybody -- students, teachers, and administrators -- stopped me to offer congratulations. The teachers told me how proud they were. The kids were excited, too. A lot of them, though, were like, "Awe, man, you should have chosen my school." It was pretty funny. The week in San Antonio was a blast. Some of the kids complained that the curfews were too early and there wasn't enough free time, but I enjoyed myself. I'm a homebody so every night, I went back to my hotel room each night to watch the college football games on ESPN Classic. I was real happy our team played as well as it did. Our coaches spent a lot of time during the week getting us comfortable with one another and teaching us the system. So to go out and dominate a game like that, 47-3, was great. They coaches worked real hard and it was great to reward them. It was also great to reward my family. The reason I work so hard and do what I do is to make them proud of me. That's what drives me. So to win the game on Sunday night, on national television and earn MVP honors, not to mention win the Ken Hall Player of the Year award on Saturday, made for an incredible weekend. The MVP trophy was a heavy one -- I bet it weighed 40 pounds. After the game, I walked over and handed it to my family in the stands. The work, though, is far from over. There's no time to kick back on the couch, put my feet up and soak everything in. There's no time to think how good I am. That's when things go downhill. That's when you get a big head. So I just try to keep myself on the right track. That means more running. More lifting. And more game film. The work never stops.