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Plenty of differences can be pointed out between former Florida wide receivers coach Joker Phillips and his replacement, Chris Leak

Phillips has 26 years of collegiate coaching experience under his belt. Leak has only one, and that was as just a graduate assistant at UF last year.

Phillips has never won an NCAA championship in his career. Leak did so as the Gators' starting quarterback in 2006 in his senior season.

Phillips is 51 years old. Leak, on the other hand, is only 29.

The contrasts between the two are certainly noticeable for some of Florida's receivers.

"The relationship is definitely different," redshirt senior receiver Andre Debose said at Florida's annual media day on Sunday.

"With Coach Leak, we're friends and we're more eye-to-eye rather than having an older guy with a couple years under his belt."

In June when Phillips resigned after one season with the Gators for "personal reasons," according to a UF press release, Leak took over the reigns as wide receivers coach.

Yahoo! Sports reported that the motive behind Phillips' resignation was a recruiting violation he made for meeting with a recruit at a restaurant during a dead period.

According to the report, a person with ties to Miami's athletics program turned in Phillips for the violation.

When Phillips arrived at UF in 2013, following a three-year stint as Kentucky's head coach, he brought with him an enthusiastic approach to the recruiting trail with his "#ComePlayForTheJoker" campaign on social media. But in the two months Leak has coached the receivers, the Gators have noticed a similar enthusiasm ooze from the coaching newcomer during meetings and workouts.

Leak's ring has also helped gain some respect from the wide out unit.

"He's a great guy," said Debose, who arrived at Florida in 2009 - only three years after Leak graduated from UF.

"Growing up, watching him win a national championship and stuff and having him as an actual coach, it's kind of surreal. We have a Gator great, seeing him every day."

From an X's and O's standpoint, some Gators, such as Latroy Pittman haven't seen much of a difference between Leak and Phillips.

"Most of the things that he talks about and speaks on are the same exact things that Joker said," explained the junior wide receiver. "It's not much difference I can say. Of course he's younger. At the same time, I say he's a champion and he knows what it takes to win, so I feel like we're on the right track with him."

It is evident that in his short time with the receivers, Leak has helped instill a strong resilience in this receiving squad, hungry for redemption after a disappointing 2013.

Sophomore wide receiver Ahmad Fulwood summarized the unit's mindset best on Sunday.

"We've come together as a group," Fulwood said. "We've decided that we're going to be one of the hardest working groups on the team. If anybody wants to stop us at that, it's going to be a tough time because we're not going down without a fight."