The forgotten Swamp King
An ode to Chris Leak, championship quarterback

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In 2006, there were a lot of moments that stand out in Florida Gators lore.

That season marked the arrival of Percy Harvin as a type of weapon that Florida hadn’t seen up to that point and hasn’t seen since. It contained a harrowing 21-20 win over Tennessee that introduced the world to the Tim Tebow dive. It contained the fake punt and the muffed punt against Arkansas in the SEC Championship, the jump pass against LSU and the response to the Ted Ginn kickoff return for a TD in the BCS Championship.

And of course, it featured the validation of Florida putting its faith in Urban Meyer as head coach with a title.

With Tebow and Meyer as the main protagonists, it’s easy to understand why the Swamp Kings documentary on Netflix focused in on many of those things. But in focusing in on Tebow’s impact – even in 2006 – and the pressure that Meyer felt to deliver, I think the documentary glossed over the most interesting subplot of the entire season.

QB Chris Leak was always a poor fit for Urban Meyer’s offense. It wasn’t a secret that Meyer and offensive coordinator Dan Mullen wanted someone who was more mobile. You could tell by looking at the QBs that the staff immediately recruited (Josh Portis, Tebow, Cam Newton). And Mullen erased all doubt that was his opinion when he said in the documentary that having a running QB opened things up in a way that Leak just could not.

That was proven prophetic early in the season. In Knoxville, the Florida offense took over with 10:22 in the fourth quarter down 20-14. On third-and-6 at the Tennessee 33, Leak had an opportunity to lower his head and get a key first down. Instead, he slid and came up a yard short, opening the door for Tebow to come in and convert the fourth down on the next play.

By the time Tebow was completing the jump pass and his play-action throw to a wide-open Louis Murphy against LSU, Leak was getting booed when sent back out on the field by some fans in the Swamp who wanted to see the next big thing and didn’t believe Leak could deliver Florida a championship. They even said that in the documentary: “we knew we were a QB away.”

To me, that’s the most intriguing part of the 2006 season. Leak – essentially a four-year starter – sacrificed his pride and his playing time to Tebow. He watched as Tebow became the star of all stars, all the while throwing for 23 TDs and nearly 3,000 yards (Tebow threw 33 passes total).

That isn’t to diminish Tebow’s importance. His fourth down conversions and the 469 yards rushing he put up from the QB position were critically important. But Leak is the guy who hit the TD throw to Dallas Baker right after Tebow converted that fourth down against the Vols. Leak is the guy who won offensive MVP of the BCS Championship.

And Leak is the guy who defied everything you heard in the Swamp Kings documentary at the most important moment of the season.

Leak took the field against South Carolina with 7:40 left in the fourth quarter and the Gators down 16-10. The offense had struggled all night, and while Leak’s stats weren’t terrible coming into that drive (18-24 for 234 yards with a TD and an INT), rewatching the game reveals that he wasn’t playing all that well.

His touchdown pass to Dallas Baker could have easily been intercepted rather than Baker stepping in front of the defender to rip it away. He had also taken sacks when the Gators were driving, leading to two field goal attempts (one missed).

The result was that the Meyer era was seemingly teetering on the edge. He was about to lose his second straight game to a Steve Spurrier-coached South Carolina, this one in Spurrier’s house. And his team was about to let their chance to stay in the national championship race slip through their fingers.

And that’s when Leak turned everything Florida fans thought about him – and was stated about him in the documentary – on its head.

On what would be their last drive of the game, the Gators offense faced a second-and-4. At that point, Florida ran what we now know as a bread-and-butter play in college football: the read-option.

The Gamecocks defensive end (circled) is left completely alone and Leak is responsible for making the read. Hand it off to DeShawn Wynn if the defender stays or keep it himself if he crashes. I paused the clip right when Leak has to make that read. I can’t tell whether the defender is going to crash or stay put. Had I heard all season that I was “not a fit in this kind of offense” it would have been easy to hand the ball to Wynn. Instead, Leak pulled the ball and rumbled for 17 yards, putting Florida into prime scoring position with just over four minutes left.

But Leak wasn’t done. Three plays later the Gators were facing a third-and-8.

Florida clearly thought that South Carolina would play for a pass and drop their linebackers into coverage. Even though they were threatening to blitz at the snap, they did exactly what the Gators expected. That left five offensive linemen for the three down linemen, and opened up an opportunity for the QB draw.

But offensive lineman Drew Miller (#67) couldn’t get out to South Carolina linebacker Cody Wells (#24). Wells has a clear shot at Leak, but Leak spins away from the tackle and gains the first down (with a fairly generous spot). On the very next play, Tebow ran the ball in for a 12-yard touchdown and the Gators were ahead 17-16 and the stage was set for Jarvis Moss to play hero at the end.

This was the drive when Leak won the national championship for the Gators.

Had he been unwilling to run the ball – either on the read-option or the QB draw – Florida doesn’t win the title. Had he pouted about not being a fit in Meyer’s and Mullen’s offense, Florida doesn’t win the title. And had he worried about who got the credit for the win and bowed up when Tebow ran out to finish off that drive – his drive – Florida doesn’t win the title.

Chris Leak is the Florida Gators all-time leader in passing yardage. He is second on the list in passing touchdowns behind Danny Wuerffel. He could have absolutely tanked that season by bristling at the Tebow narrative. I’m sure there was tension behind the scenes, and given the way he was discussed as an afterthought in the documentary, I suspect some of that tension still exists.

I wish the documentary had explored that dynamic. Because you could tell in some of the interviews that some of the players had to walk the balance of appreciating everything that Tebow brought to the program while simultaneously wondering why he is singled out separate from the team in a way that other championship QBs have not been.

Nobody should wonder that more than Leak. The documentary described Leak as a pocket passer who was only the option because Meyer and Mullen had yet to find someone to replace him. That may be true. But holding to that description also meant that it missed the moments that should have cemented Leak’s legacy, but is somehow a forgotten member of the Swamp Kings.

Because when it mattered most, Leak proved that he was a championship-level QB by executing to perfection the offense all of his detractors said he couldn’t run.

McNeese State Predictions

Raise your hand if you knew that McNeese State’s mascot was the Cowboys (I would have guessed Mustangs, personally).

The Cowboys got run out of their own stadium last weekend by Tarleton State in a 52-34 defeat. The Texans averaged 7.5 yards per play compared to McNeese’s 3.4. Tarleton State rushed for 210 yards and passed for 344. McNeese starting QB Nate Glantz went 15-35 for 166 yards and was sacked 7 times.

In other words, this should be a game in which the Gators gain confidence and hope to stay healthy heading into next week’s tilt with Tennessee.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be looking for certain things. Here’s what’s at the top of my list.

Feed #2, Feed #7

I stole this from Nick Knudsen, as it’s become his go-to phrase over the past two seasons whenever the Florida offense has stalled. This team isn’t going anywhere without Montrell Johnson and Trevor Etienne getting the ball. I get that Trey Wilson is exciting. I know Ricky Pearsall is reliable and there are big plays out there if Graham Mertz can hit him downfield. I know running the football isn’t sexy. But neither is getting manhandled by Utah. Florida needs to find it’s identity, and that starts with feeding #2 and #7.

Front-Four Havoc

As mentioned, McNeese State’s starting QB was sacked 7 times last week. Florida had exactly zero sacks against Utah’s third string QB last week. While the defense did some good things, what it did against Utah won’t be enough against Tennessee. Give a QB in a Josh Heupel offense time to pick you apart and you’re going to get 56 dropped on you. That means we need to see some guys on the defensive line win some individual battles. Whether that’s Umanmielen, Sapp, Banks, Jackson or someone else, Florida needs to make the QB uncomfortable with its front-four.

Special Special Teams

Perhaps the most frustrating part of the Billy Napier era has been the Gators special teams. Last week Utah started an average of 66.6 yards from the end zone while the Gators started 77.8 yards from paydirt. That’s hard to do, as simply fair catching kickoffs puts you 75 yards from scoring. But given the adventures on the punt return team, Florida’s offense was consistently forced to drive down the field. The red zone struggles were apparent, but part of why they were so glaring was how hard the Gators had to work to get there.

No betting line this week, but it shouldn’t be a shock I’m taking Florida.

Gators win, 52-10.