Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Gators, you owe Chris Leak respect and gratitude

Unfortunately, the 4-year relationship between Gator fans and Chris Leak has been one of the love/hate variety. I say unfortunately because Leak has stoically shouldered the burden of leading the Gators through a tumultuous period that included the Ron Zook disaster, three offensive coordinators in 4 years and the recruiting of the next big thing, Tim Tebow.

Leak finally got his SEC Championship this year, putting him up there with the likes of Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel, and Rex Grossman. Leak was rarely spectacular, he only had (7) 300-yard passing games to Wuerffel's 17 and Matthews 15 but he was steady logging (32) 200-yard games, the most by any Gator QB in history. A quick look at his career statistics shows that despite the turmoil that accompanied the Leak era, Chris will go down as one of the all-time Gator QB greats.

Passing Attempts (Career)
1. 1,422 - Chris Leak, 2003-06
2. 1,202 - Shane Matthews, 1989-92
3. 1,170 - Danny Wuerffel, 1993-96
4. 1,128 - John Reaves, 1969-71
5. 1,110 - Rex Grossman, 2000-02
6. 991 - Wayne Peace, 1980-83
7. 949 - Kerwin Bell, 1984-87
8. 907 - Doug Johnson, 1996-99
9. 692 - Steve Spurrier, 1964-66
10. 479 - Jesse Palmer, 1997-2000

Passing Completions (Career)
1. 870 - Chris Leak, 2003-06
2. 722 - Shane Matthews, 1989-92
3. 708 - Danny Wuerffel, 1993-96
4. 677 - Rex Grossman, 2000-02
5. 610 - Wayne Peace, 1980-83
6. 603 - John Reaves, 1969-71
7. 549 - Kerwin Bell, 1984-87
8. 504 - Doug Johnson, 1996-99
9. 392 - Steve Spurrier, 1964-66
10. 254 - Jesse Palmer, 1997-2000

Passing Yards (Career)
1. 11,000 - Chris Leak, 2003-06
2. 10,875 - Danny Wuerffel, 1993-96
3. 9,287 - Shane Matthews, 1989-92
4. 9,164 - Rex Grossman, 2000-02
5. 7,585 - Kerwin Bell, 1984-87
6. 7,549 - John Reaves, 1969-71
7. 7,206 - Wayne Peace, 1980-83
8. 7,114 - Doug Johnson, 1996-99
9. 4,848 - Steve Spurrier, 1964-66
10. 3,755 - Jesse Palmer, 1997-2000

Passing Touchdowns (Career)
1. 114 - Danny Wuerffel, 1993-96
2. 87 - Chris Leak, 2003-06
3. 77 - Rex Grossman, 2000-02
4. 74 - Shane Matthews, 1989-92
5. 62 - Doug Johnson, 1996-99
6. 56 - Kerwin Bell, 1984-87
7. 54 - John Reaves, 1969-71
8. 39 - Terry Dean, 1991-94
9. 36 - Steve Spurrier, 1964-66
10. 34 - Wayne Peace, 1980-83

Total Yards (Pass, Rec., Rush)
1. 11,160 - Chris Leak, 2003-06
2. 10,500 - Danny Wuerffel, 1993-96
3. 9,248 - Shane Matthews, 1989-92
4. 9,040 - Rex Grossman, 2000-02
5. 7,297 - John Reaves, 1969-71
6. 7,032 - Kerwin Bell, 1984-87
7. 6,955 - Wayne Peace, 1980-83
8. 6,793 - Doug Johnson, 1996-99
9. 5,393 - Errict Rhett, 1990-93
10. 5,295 - Steve Spurrier, 1964-66

200-Yard Passing Games (Career)
1. 32 - Chris Leak, 2003-06
2. 31 - Danny Wuerffel, 1993-96
3. 30 - Shane Matthews, 1989-92
4. 26 - Rex Grossman, 2000-02
5. 23 - John Reaves, 1969-71
6. 20 - Doug Johnson, 1996-99
7. 14 - Wayne Peace, 1980-83
7. 14 - Kerwin Bell, 1984-87
9. 12 - Steve Spurrier, 1964-66

Efficiency (Career) Min. 500 Att.
1.163.6 - Danny Wuerffel, 1993-96
2. 146.7 - Rex Grossman, 2000-02
3. 140.4 - Chris Leak, 2003-2006
4. 137.6 - Shane Matthews, 1989-92
5. 136.5 - Kerwin Bell, 1984-87

Lowest Interception Percentage (Career) Min. 500 Att.
1. 2.95 - Chris Leak, 2003-06
2. 3.24 - Rex Grossman, 2000-02
3. 3.59 - Danny Wuerffel, 1993-96
4. 3.68 - Kerwin Bell, 1984-87

TD Responsibility (Florida)
1. 122 - Danny Wuerffel, 1993-96
2. 100 - Chris Leak, 2003-06
3. 83 - Rex Grossman, 2000-02
4. 82 - Shane Matthews, 1989-92
5. 65 - Doug Johnson, 1996-99

TD Responsibility (SEC)
1. 122 - Danny Wuerffel (UF), 1993-96
2. 118 - Eli Manning (OM), 2000-03
3. 101 - Peyton Manning (UT), 1994-97
4. 100 - Chris Leak (UF), 2003-06
5. 90 - Jared Lorenzen (UK), 2000-03
6. 83 - Rex Grossman (UF), 2000-02
7. 82 - Shane Matthews (UF), 1989-92
8. 81 - Casey Clausen (UT), 2000-03
9. 78 - Tim Couch (UK), 1996-98
10. 77 - David Greene (UGA), 2001-04

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