Meyer: Leak's job secure at Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) Florida coach Urban Meyer ended any speculation on Tuesday that freshman Josh Portis would replace struggling quarterback Chris Leak this season.<br> <br> ``That&#39;s (put) to rest,&#39;&#39; Meyer said. ``It&#39;s been like that for over 100 years. That&#39;s the way it is: &#39;Let&#39;s go to this. Let&#39;s go to this.&#39; Chris Leak is our quarterback. To put the whole blame on him is absolutely not fair.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Leak has completed 45 percent of his passes for 538 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions against Alabama, Mississippi State and LSU. He has been sacked 10 times in those three games and 21 times this season.<br> <br> ``When you have pressure like that, it&#39;s pretty hard to set your feet and throw,&#39;&#39; Leak said Tuesday. ``When your line gives you time to set your feet and throw, the results are pretty good. It gives your receivers time to get in their routes and everything. When you don&#39;t have time to set your feet and throw, it&#39;s a different ballgame.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The 18th-ranked Gators are off this Saturday before playing No. 4 Georgia in Jacksonville the following weekend.<br> <br> Leak injured his throwing shoulder Oct. 1 against Alabama and hasn&#39;t been the same since. But he said his right shoulder was fine even though he received an anti-inflammatory shot before each of the last two games.<br> <br> ``It&#39;s just a bruise,&#39;&#39; he said. ``It&#39;s just precautionary. I feel the same as I always do.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> After Leak threw for a career-low 107 yards and was sacked four more times in a 21-17 loss to LSU, Florida fans started calling for Portis to replace the three-year starter. Portis committed to play for Meyer at Utah but followed the coach to Gainesville in January.<br> <br> Portis has looked more comfortable with the option aspects of Meyer&#39;s spread offense. He is the team&#39;s second-leading rusher with 26 carries for 159 yards and has shown speed that many believe would spark the offense.<br> <br> But he is 6-of-11 passing for 81 yards with no touchdowns and an interception while playing mostly in mop-up duty.<br> <br> But Meyer said Portis isn&#39;t the answer to the offense&#39;s problems.<br> <br> He said Florida needed more production from the running game. He pointed to a season-ending injury to Andre Caldwell that left the Gators with little depth at the receiver position. And he said the offensive line needed to do a better job keeping pressure off Leak.<br> <br> ``We&#39;re not protecting him very well,&#39;&#39; Meyer said. ``What happens is a quarterback gets spooked, so even when he&#39;s protected, his feet aren&#39;t getting set. We have to get everything right. That&#39;s not, &#39;Well Chris is this, Chris is this.&#39; We have to protect him better.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)