In December, quarterback Riley Leonard committed to Notre Dame in the transfer portal. On Monday, On3’s Andy Staples and Clark Brooks revealed what Leonard will bring to the Fighting Irish.
“He executes core concepts very, very well,” Brooks said. “While I might have some qualms with his ability to throw downfield and be a downfield producer, his processing power, his cerebral approach to the game is in a class of its own compared to this this current crop.
“When you bring in his healthy legs, that is an another dynamic that other people just cannot offer. At the time of his injury, he had the top yards per attempt among quarterbacks in the ACC, consistently low drop back conversion sack ratio, consistently low scheme elements—that he didn’t necessarily have a lot of ‘gimme’ completions that he leaned on.”
Leonard and Duke grabbed the nation’s attention last season when they defeated Clemson 28-7 in their season-opener. In the win, Leonard tallied 17 completions for 175 yards. Moreover, the mobile QB boasted 98 yards and a touchdown in the ground game.
The Blue Devils won their first four games of the season and soared up the AP Top 25. However, after Leonard suffered an injury in Duke’s Week 5 loss to Notre Dame, the Blue Devils struggled to rediscover their rhythm.
Leonard ultimately only played in seven games due to the injury, finishing the season with 1,102 passing yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. He also recorded 352 rushing yards and four scores.
Brook is confident Leonard will be able to avoid some of the issues that plagued him last season at Duke.
“When you’re looking at people at the next level, you can absolutely see why people like Mel Kiper Jr. are very high on him,” Brooks said. “Dealing from muddy pockets—he had to deal with that quite a lot [at Duke] and not being at 100% strength.
“You can you can kind of dismiss the stats some, but still recognize he still has to have a little bit more potency. But still, it’s just phenomenal how he can distribute in the short area of the field.”
Leonard will replace former Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman, who led the team to a 10-3 record last season, the program’s best under head coach Marcus Freeman. Now, in the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff format, Riley Leonard will look to carry Notre Dame to new heights.
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