2002 Football Roster
Roster
Matt Leach
- Height:
- 6-1
- Weight:
- 188
- Class:
- Sophomore
- Hometown:
- Sarasota
- High School:
- Booker
A four-year member of the UF squad who was the starting placekicker for two plus years after beginning his career as the starting punter…
CAREER: Saw action in 47 games and the Orange Bowl, for 235…Was a game captain three times…Was 120-of-125 (.960 pct) in extra points and 43-of-61 in FGs (.705)…The 120 career extra-point attempts rank fourth on UF's all-time list…His 250 career points rank second in UF's history books…Finished his career connecting on 104 consecutive PATs, the second longest in UF history and the second longest active streak in the nation at the time…Made 24 of his last 31 attempts inside the 40 yard line…Had 27 punts for 1,058 yards (39.2 avg.) over his career, including a 54-yarder, and has seven kicks inside the opponent's 20-yard line…Has been chosen to play in the 2005 Villages Gridiron Classic College All-Star Game…
2004: Honorable Mention All-SEC (Associated Press)….Named the Co-Outstanding Special Teams Player at the conclusion of the 2004 season…Named to the Lou Groza Award Watch List…Florida's starting kicker who handled field goals and extra-point duties…Played in all 12 games for 68 plays…Was one of four kickers in the NCAA to nail two field goals of 50-plus yards…The first UF kicker to have two 50-plus yard kicks in a season since 1984, when Chris Perkins recorded two in a season, one against Tulane (60 yards) and another versus Tennessee (51 yards)…Ranked first in the SEC with 88 points…Was second in the league with 7.3 points per game…Led the conference in field goal accuracy of 40-plus yards, connecting on six of nine…Tied for first among SEC kickers with a 1.00 perfect in extra point percentages with 49 successful attempts…Recorded a 52-yard field goal kick in the contest against Georgia, making the kick the longest field goal of this season and his career, and bettering his previous career best by two yards…The 52-yard kick was the sixth-longest field goal on the road in UF school history and tied for the longest in the SEC during the 2004 campaign…Made five of his last six field goal attempts from 40 or more yards
2003: Named a Lou Groza Award semifinalist…Named UF Outstanding Special Teams Player…Made 62-of-68 attempts - 21 field goals and 41 extra points…Converted on 17 of his last 20 field goals from inside of the 40-yard line and made 48 consecutive extra-point attempts…Was 13-for-18 on field goals between 30 and 49 yards…Named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week after kicking a 33-yard game winner versus Georgia…Tied for the lead in the SEC 41 extra points on 41 attempts…Kicked a career-high four field goals vs. FSU, including three from 40-plus yards…Set a career high with 17 points scored in opener against San Jose State, the second-highest point total by a kicker in the SEC that season…Booted three field goals versus San Jose State, including a pair of 37-yarders, to tie a previous-high set vs. Auburn in 2002…Earned SEC Player of the Week and UF Special Teams Player of the Game after making a pair of FGs at No. 6 LSU, including a career-long 50-yarder, tying for the sixth-longest on the road in school history…Moved to a perfect 5-for-5 on the season in field goals by hitting both attempts against Miami…Was a perfect 9-of-9 converting extra points against FAMU, the highest total by a kicker last season in the SEC…Nailed a 47-yard attempt against Tennessee…Named a UF game captain for the FAMU, Kentucky and Vanderbilt games…
2002: Handled extra-point duties through the first seven games and regained the starting job back versus Vanderbilt…Played in every game for 53 plays…Was 30-of-35 (85 percent) in PATs and 9-of-15 in extra points…Kicked a career-high three FG's in the overtime win vs. Auburn, including a then career-best 48-yarder…Kicked a 41-yarder vs. Tennessee as time expired in the first half…
2001: Became the squad's top punter as a true freshman…Managed 40.2 avg. on 26 punts on the season, with seven downed inside the 20…Had a 54-yard punt on his first college kick that was downed on Marshall's own two-yard line…Averaged 44.6 on five punts versus Auburn…Did not have to punt in back-to-back games (Vanderbilt and South Carolina)…Won UF's postseason award for the "Most Outstanding Freshman"…
PREP: A standout kicker who earned prep All-America honors in 2000…Named to National Bluechips' All- America team and that publication ranked him among the nation's top dozen kickers… A Rivals.com All-America selection and that organization ranked him among the country's top five kickers…A first-team All-State (3A) selection in 1999 and 2000…Selected as the place kicker on the Florida Super Seniors Team…Connected on 35-of-44 career field goals (79.6 percent) with his 35 made field goals ranking among the top five totals in national prep history…Three career field goals of 50-plus yards, including a career-long for 53 yards…Was 12-of-16 on field goals as a senior and 13-of-18 as a junior…Was 19-of-20 on career field goal attempts inside 40 yards…Maintained 42.4 punting average as a senior and 39.7 as a junior…83 percent of kickoffs went for touchbacks as a senior…High school coach was Leroy Ryals…
MAJOR: Therapeutic Recreation .
| Career Kicking Stats: | |||||||
| Year | Xpm | Xpa | Pct | Fgm | Fga | Pct | Long |
| 2002 | 30 | 35 | .857 | 9 | 15 | .600 | 48 |
| 2003 | 41 | 41 | 1.00 | 21 | 27 | .762 | 50 |
| 2004 | 49 | 49 | 1.00 | 13 | 19 | .684 | 52 |
| Total | 120 | 125 | .960 | 43 | 61 | .705 | 52 |
| Career Punting Stats: | ||||||||
| Year | No. | Yds | Avg | Long | Tb | Fc | 120 | Blkd |
| 2001 | 24 | 965 | 40.2 | 54 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | 2 | 57 | 28.5 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2004 | 1 | 36 | 36.0 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 27 | 1,058 | 39.2 | 54 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 0 |
