Dispatch
Florida?s Leak says headache wasn?t a concussion
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Florida quarterback Chris Leak insisted yesterday that he didn?t play with a concussion against Georgia.
"I just got dinged. No more than that," said Leak, who had a severe headache and blurred vision. "That?s what happens through the course of a football game. It really didn?t affect my play at all. I played through it and went through all my checks and all the plays, and I felt pretty good."
After Saturday?s 21-14 victory, Leak told coach Urban Meyer he felt like he suffered a concussion in the first half. Leak told team trainers only that he had a headache. He took medication but didn?t use the word "concussion" until after the game.
"I didn?t have a concussion, but I didn?t know," Leak said. "When you get your bell rung in a game like that, you don?t know what to think of it. It was no more than a headache."
Meyer talked to Leak about the importance of making trainers and coaches aware of symptoms during the game. When asked whether not having that information was disturbing, Meyer said yesterday, "Very much so. We have to have those discussions on the sideline."
Leak was 8 of 16 for 117 yards in the first half and had a 40-yard touchdown pass to Andre Caldwell. He was 6 of 12 for 46 yards with an interception in the second half. No. 7 Florida didn?t score on offense after building a 14-0 halftime lead.
Meyer said Leak had several missed calls after the hit and burned three timeouts because of play-calling issues.