Interesting story on the paths of these two qb's... all said and done, Tate was a better fit and will (should) have a better collegiate career... three years ago, whodda thunk??? TAMPA, Fla. -- The Hawkeyes entertained two official visitors on the last weekend before Christmas in 2002 – Drew Tate and Chris Leak. Three years later, the two junior quarterbacks -- and the weekend they shared together in Iowa City -- are popular topics leading up to the Jan. 2 Outback Bowl, where Tate and Leak will step onto the same field when Iowa plays Florida. Leak considered Florida, USC, Florida State, Texas, Tennessee and called the Iowa football offices expressing interest in the Hawkeyes after watching Brad Banks and company hammer Michigan in 2002. Tate committed to Texas A&M as a sophomore, but rumblings that coach R.C. Slocum was being forced out caused the native of Baytown, Texas, to line up a contingency plan. Tate scheduled visits to Iowa, Houston and Baylor. Tate set nearly every career passing record in Texas high school football history. Leak set nearly every national mark. Tate flew commercial on his official visit to Iowa. The Hawkeyes sent a private jet for Leak to work around scheduling conflicts for both parties. Tate signed with Iowa. Leak gave the Hawkeyes a long look before signing with the Gators, and Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz has often mentioned how he was impressed with the way Leak meticulously approached the recruiting process. "Iowa is first-class and a well-coached team," Leak said Tuesday in a statement released through Florida's sports information department. "Coach Ferentz is a great guy, and he and his staff have done such a tremendous job. "Iowa is one of the schools I took a hard look at. It says a lot for their program that they're playing in four straight January bowl games." If he posts similar statistics next year, Tate will leave Iowa with a resume that rivals those belonging to former Iowa greats Chuck Long and Chuck Hartlieb. Currently, Tate ranks fifth in Hawkeye history in passing yards (5,323) and touchdown passes (40), and Ferentz said he belongs in the conversation about Iowa's all-time best quarterbacks. Likewise, Leak is already near the top of the Florida passing lists. He became a starter midway through his freshman season and has thrown for 7,993 yards and 63 touchdowns -- both of which rank fourth in Gator history. But Leak's career has endured some turbulence. He led the Southeastern Conference in passing in 2004. But when he struggled to smoothly operate first-year coach Urban Meyer's spread offense this year, some Gator fans called for him to be benched in favor of freshman Josh Portis, who has since transferred to Maryland. When Leak made his college decision, he said he felt Florida provided him the best opportunity to win a national championship. But through his first three years in Gainesville, he has played for two head coaches, worked with three offensive coordinators and has yet to play for a team that finished the season in the top 20.
People assume Leak and UF will magically get better next year but I don't see it. UF will still be an 8-4, 9-3 at best team next year. Leak doesn't fit into that offense
