Leak finds safety net on defense

Leak, who one day earlier learned he was bumped from the No. 1 spot at quarterback, moved over to defense Friday with a fresh attitude and renewed enthusiasm.

"It's a decision I've made because I want to get out there on the field,'' said Leak, who saw his first action at safety. "I feel I have a lot of athletic ability, and I'm a hard worker.''

Leak, at 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, said he has run a 4.5-second 40-yard dash, and he believes he can be an asset to John Chavis' swarming defense.

"It's a lot of fun playing over there for Coach Chavis,'' Leak said. "There's a lot more running around, but I think I'll pick it up fast.''

Fulmer said he was impressed with the attitudes shown by both Leak and Rick Clausen. Clausen continued to work with the quarterbacks Friday.

"I couldn't be more appreciative of the way C.J. and Rick have handled it,'' Fulmer said. "It was a very fair evaluation and all the way through we were very thorough.

"I'm very glad that part is behind us.''

Leak, who traded his orange practice jersey (offensive) for white (worn by the defense), said it has been a while since he lined up on the defensive side of the football.

"It was in high school my senior year, and we were playing Anderson County,'' Leak said. "They were running all over us, so the coach took me and (a teammate) and moved us over there. I had 11A 1/2 tackles.

"I believe things happen for a reason. The coaches wanted to go with the younger guys, and I'm for whatever they want to do. "This is a team game, and I'm a part of this team.''

Leak said his heart will always be at quarterback, but having seen the likes of Anquan Bolden and Ronald Curry find success at other positions, he's willing to give it a try.

Meanwhile, Fulmer is expecting Ainge and Schaeffer to make the most of the opportunity he has provided.

"The freshmen have to do their jobs and play within the system and not play out of character,'' Fulmer said. "They both need to do a better job of taking care of the ball than they have to this point.''

Receivers Tony Brown and Robert Meachem said Fulmer's decision to pare the quarterback rotation down should have immediate benefits.

"Coach (Fulmer) told us in spring he'd decide on his quarterback,'' Brown said. "He said at the start of fall drills, he'd wait until two weeks before, and that's what he did.''

Perhaps not even Fulmer could have anticipated that both Ainge and Schaeffer would pick up the system so quickly.

"They've both caught on very quickly,'' Fulmer said. "Both came out of passing offenses, both were well-coached, both are very bright and both see the field well.

"It's intriguing. This could present somewhat of a nightmare for defensive coordinators.''

Fulmer wouldn't say he was implementing a two-quarterback system, but all signs point to that.

"It's important we get the offense timed up,'' Fulmer said. "We'll build the offense around the dynamics they bring.''

Fulmer said he's not sure why many were caught off-guard by his decision to go with the freshmen quarterbacks, recent history aside.

"We've tried to be aggressive in all our personnel decisions,'' Fulmer said. "This particular scenario needed to be played like this.''