University of Florida Coach Urban Meyer watches his team practice, led by quarterback Chris Leak. Bill Frakes

SI's Kelley King was in Gainesville to check in on one of the nation's most anticipated new partnerships.

When the two first sat down together in January, new Florida coach Urban Meyer told rising junior quarterback Chris Leak that he planned to build the offense around Leak's talents. "Coming from a guy who has had his success," says Leak, "that makes a quarterback feel pretty great."

But during the team's initial practice last month the coach didn't hear a peep from Leak -- and was irritated. "I saw a bunch of guys walking around and no general," Meyer says. "I pulled Chris aside and said, 'You want to lead by example? That's fine. You're just not going to be my quarterback.'" The message got through. Soon, says rising senior center Mike Degory, "Chris was getting in guys' faces when they were slacking, patting their backs when they did well."

Next Meyer focused on the quarterback's arm. Leak seemed to be having trouble with the lightning-quick passes that are required with the option reads in Meyer's system.

"Alex Smith was the same way at first," says Meyer of the former Utah quarterback and 2004 Heisman finalist. "They're intelligent guys who can overanalyze. So I told Chris to just let it rip and not worry where the ball was going."

The experiment seems to be working.

The Frozen Four

No office pools, no bracketologists, no TV commentators cashing in with dopey commercials; just unadulterated fun, pucks at its organic best. We're speaking of the Frozen Four, which begins Thursday in Columbus, Ohio. For the first time in the tournament's history, each of the teams -- Colorado College, Denver, Minnesota and North Dakota -- are from one conference, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. "If this were the [basketball] Final Four," says Minnesota coach Don Lucia, "it would be like Duke versus North Carolina and Louisville versus Kentucky." Says Golden Gophers star Ryan Potulny, "My brother [Grant, a center in the Ottawa Senators' farm system] says pro hockey is all about playing for your job. Out here we're just buddies working hard, still playing for the fun of it."

Issue date: April 11, 2005