Micah Leon sat out last season before joining the Gators in the spring as a walk-on quarterback. (Photo: Matt Pendleton/USA TODAY Sports)
Gators Quarterback Micah Leon's Long Road Home
Friday, September 29, 2023 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Gators arrived at their hotel here late Friday afternoon and settled in for final preparations for Saturday's noon game against Kentucky. As the evening unfolded and players passed by the lobby and restaurant, the Louisville-N.C. State game played on hotel TVs.
Another moment for Gators reserve quarterback Micah Leon to ponder this improbable odyssey that started at N.C. State in 2017 — so long ago he can remember hosting a prep quarterback named Sam Howell, now in his second year with the NFL's Washington Commanders, when the future North Carolina starter visited N.C. State. Micah Leon
"I was there for his junior day,'' Leon said recently. "And I'm still in college."
Before you think Leon might be bitter about his current station in life, think again. A seventh-year graduate student from Boynton Beach, Leon sometimes can't believe his good fortune. And considering what the soon-to-be-24-year-old Florida native has been through in his college career, that says a lot about who No. 12 is under his jersey.
A year after Leon arrived at N.C. State, Kentucky starting quarterback Devin Leary signed with the Wolfpack and immediately connected with Leon. Leary is eager to reconnect when the 22nd-ranked Gators get to Kroger Field on Saturday morning for the noon kickoff against the undefeated Wildcats.
Leary and Leon traded messages on social media when they landed in the Southeastern Conference this season, but the former teammates last saw each other when Leon left N.C. State in the summer of 2019.
"We've got to take a picture after the game. An incredible teammate," Leary recalled this week. "In a quarterback room, first time being in college, you kind of look around and see the guys you want to follow, and Micah set the standard. There was a point in time when we were splitting scout-team reps and we were watching our scout-team film together, just figuring out how each of us could be better.
"So, now, to be able to reunite will be a really cool moment."
Leon's scrapbook of memories from his college career is remarkably thick for a player who has thrown 16 passes in seven seasons. Three of those attempts came in Florida's 49-7 win over McNeese at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium earlier this month.
With a comfortable lead and starter Graham Mertz on the sideline, Gators head coach Billy Napier turned to redshirt freshman Max Brown and the veteran journeyman Leon for most of the second half. Leon finished 2-for-3 for 16 yards in the second appearance of this career.
But what an experience it was for Leon and his deeply-rooted Gators family. Two of Leon's uncles, walk-ons Anthony T. Leon and Edward Leon, played at Florida in the late 1980s and early '90s.
"He's always wanted to be a Gator, and this is just the way it worked out,'' said Carman Leon, Micah's father and an attorney in South Florida. "Here we are."
Micah Leon, left, and Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary, right, run drills with Matthew McKay when the three played for N.C. State in the spring of 2019. (Photo: Newspapers.com/newsobverser.com).
Leon grew up a Gators fan but long ago figured any chance of playing for them was over.
Playing again at all seemed unlikely on Nov. 27, 2021. That was the day Leon made his first college appearance, coming off the bench for UConn in a 45-17 loss to Houston. Leon entered the game when Huskies starter Steven Krajewski was injured. Leon was far from 100 percent, but he was going to take advantage of an opportunity to play. He went 10-for-13 for 62 yards, his first game action since he was a senior at Boca Raton High five years earlier. And then it happened. A Houston player rolled on Leon's foot in the final two minutes. He suffered a compound fracture that required surgery.
It was another setback in his time at UConn that was filled with obstacles and injuries. Leon is straightforward when he discusses what kept him going when others would have given up.
"Quick answer: I'm a man of faith. I've never been a bitter person. I think life's fair in certain ways. Whatever the challenge is, it's always easier to assume responsibility and then go for it from that spot. It's something I think my parents have ingrained in me. I was trusting the Lord that there was an opportunity that would present itself if that was the plan for me."
Leon transferred to UConn when then-Wolfpack quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz departed to become head coach at Appalachian State, and the Wolfpack signed two more quarterbacks, former Florida State reserve Baily Hockman and high schooler Ty Evans. Leon considered joining Drinkwitz at Appalachian State, but he saw an opportunity to start for the Huskies.
His time at UConn started promising but quickly became a nightmare due to injuries.
"I was in a good position when I got there in 2019," Leon said. "And then I had a labrum tear on the third day of fall camp. It ended that season, which is what my medical redshirt was for."
Leon's hardships didn't stop there. When the coronavirus pandemic struck in 2020, UConn was one of three FBS teams not to have a season, causing Leon to miss another playing season. Finally, in the spring of 2021, with his mechanics altered due to the labrum injury two years earlier, he tore a pectoral muscle while throwing an out route that spring. He rehabbed tirelessly that summer to have a chance to play what he thought was a final season.
"That whole season was just how much can I get out of my arm,'' Leon said. "It was unfortunate because I didn't have the strength in my arm I wanted to."
And, of course, when Leon finally got a chance to play in the regular-season finale against Houston, he suffered a broken foot. With his undergraduate degree in hand, Leon returned home to South Florida and reunited with Chris Verna, a veteran athletic trainer he had worked with previously to recover from his labrum injury.
Verna specializes in rotational flexibility and has worked with numerous professional athletes on their throwing mechanics, including Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz and NFL quarterbacks such as Kirk Cousins and Brett Favre.
Verna tutored the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Leon to shorten his release to get rid of the football quicker and to rebuild his strength once Leon could ditch the bulky boot on his foot.
"He was trying to get confidence. When you get injured like that, your confidence is really rattled," Verna said. "He had to change a lot of stuff. He really wanted to feel solid and know exactly what he was going to do, and to do it quickly. His focus and his dedication were spot on. If you don't have that, I don't care how good your program is, you're not going to come back. He was really diligent. To change your body, it's about how consistent you work. And he did it.
"It's amazing what he's done."
Micah Leon appeared in the second game of his college career against McNeese on Sept. 9 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (Photo: Mallory Peak/UAA Communications)
Still, there was a session with Verna late in 2022 when Leon was uncertain if it would be his last time working at his craft. Leon was not fully healthy when preseason camps started, so he was not a high priority for schools to offer a spot as a walk-on. He was also awaiting an NCAA hardship waiver.
"When I entered the transfer portal, I was barely running,'' Leon said. "If there was going to be no more football for me, I was like, 'OK, it's my time to start a career and be that normal person that is going to come at some point.' I was never stressed or worried that something might not break for me. Ultimately, it's miraculous that I'm here. I'm just grateful for it."
Gators quarterbacks coach Ryan O'Hara came across film of Leon, sent him an email, which led to a conversation and an eventual opportunity to walk-on at UF. Leon joined the Gators in January and impressed his new teammates in similar fashion as Leary five years ago at N.C. State.
"I tell you what, when I did hear about Micah and I got around Micah, he's going to be one of my boys for life,'' said Mertz. "He's a special guy. I could talk about Micah for days. I truly appreciate that he's seen a lot of ball. We both have played a lot of different defenses have seen a lot of different looks, so we can communicate on what we're seeing during a game. 'What are you seeing? Where is the pressure coming from? Where is the weakness in the defense?' We just get it. We get each other. It's just awesome."
Leon garnered attention in preseason camp when he performed well in scrimmages with projected backup Jack Miller III sidelined due to a shoulder injury.
While Mertz has performed well and leads the SEC in completion percentage, Napier sounded confident late in preseason camp that if he needed to use Leon in a critical spot, he would.
"Micah has proved to be very effective. He's smart. He's a student of the game. Guy throws a really good ball," Napier said. "We've given him some reps and he's made the most of those reps. I would say that we're giving him reps for a reason, and we'll see where that goes."
Those snaps led to Leon's unlikely UF debut three weeks ago in front of family and friends and relatives overjoyed by his opportunity. They had a group chat with more than 100 people sharing the experience. Leon lives with his older brother Isaac Leon, a former walk-on tight end at Alabama who finished school at UF and now works at UFHealth.
When it was over, Leon and his family gathered at a relative's home in Gainesville to relive the night with the people who knew his story the best.
"You know what, it was kind of surreal. For the longest time, we've just been waiting for a moment like that,'' said Carman Leon, who coached Micah at different stages growing up. "We were glad he got on the field, but knowing the caliber of person he is is one thing, but he's actually a very good quarterback.
"He is very smart and wherever he's gone, he's excelled, but whenever his opportunity came to be QB1, something in God's providence has just always worked to not let that happen. He's confident he could be starting anywhere. No matter what happens – and I say this to Micah's friends and other kids that I have coached along — if you put your heart into this stuff, it can really benefit you and open up a lot of doors. There's a lot more than the football side of things. And he sees that."
An unranked member of the 2017 recruiting class, Leon was out of football a year ago, working with Verna, former UF quarterback Eric Kresser, and anyone else who would help him keep the dream alive.
Most players would have tossed the ball away and called it a career. Not Leon. He said he feels better now than he ever has. He will continue to work, and if another door opens, he plans to walk through it and see what happens.
"For me, it's just always been, let me think of how to say it: I never fell in love with the game, but it's an outlet for competition. I love to compete. I love to see where I stack up against people,'' Leon said. "I love going against another team. I love competing with guys in the room. For some reason, that's what draws me the most. That's what I love about it, and that's what keeps me training."
Against the longest of odds, Leon will finally meet up with his former teammate Leary on Saturday. The five years since they spent hours watching film together seems so long ago.
What does Leary think about his former QB partner still pushing his body and mind in a game that has offered mostly heartbreak?
"Honestly, it doesn't surprise me," Leary said. "He truly loves being a quarterback. He embodies the position, whether you are getting a ton or reps or you're not getting any reps, he just takes that approach every day to give it best he can."
