Ignore rumors: Leak is still QB

Like everyone else on the offense, Chris Leak is struggling at the moment - which is making No. 2 quarterback Josh Portis a very popular young man among frustrated and disappointed Florida fans.

But speculation about a possible change at quarterback is just that, UF coach Urban Meyer said Tuesday.

"That's to rest," Meyer said. "It's been like that for over 100 years. That's the way it is, 'Let's go to this, let's go to this (when things aren't working).'

"But Chris Leak is our quarterback. To put the whole blame on him is absolutely unfair. I don't think people are doing that. We're certainly not doing that. (The problems on offense) are a combination of everyone involved. Players, coaches, everyone involved."

Leak had one of the worst performances of his career in last Saturday's loss to LSU. Under a heavy rush all afternoon, Leak completed only 11 of 30 passes for a career-low 107 yards and the offense imploded. The junior was a little jumpy in the pocket and his timing appeared way off.

"I saw that when I first got here against Miami (in the Peach Bowl)," Meyer said. "We're not protecting him very well. That's what happens when a quarterback gets spooked. Even when we're protecting him his feet aren't getting set.

"We've got to get everything right. We've got to protect him better. We have to make sure we protect him and spend a lot of time working on protecting the quarterback."

Leak said his sprained right shoulder is fine and was not a factor in Saturday's game - even though he was given an anti-inflammatory shot in the shoulder before the game.

"My shoulder is fine. It's just a bruise," Leak said. "(The shot) was just precautionary. I'm going out and playing like I always do. I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing and taking care of it."

In an attempt to help Leak - and everyone else on offense - Meyer said the coaching staff is going to pare down the offense during the bye week.

"We're evaluating what's positive and what we can get these guys comfortable with doing," Meyer said. "It's exactly what we've been doing. We're pushing hard. There are some normal growth issues with an offense such of this and a lot of newness for these guys.

"We've pushed awful hard and we're going to continue to push. But the bottom line is we need more production and we've got to get more comfort (in the offense). There's not a comfort level right now, especially against the faster teams. Against teams that don't have that great speed there's that comfort level. Against the fast teams, it's an issue."