The Riley Leonard redemption tour has continued in the most impressive of ways that has now culminated in a national title game appearance.
The Notre Dame quarterback who was once viewed as a dark horse has now completely rewritten his narrative after a rough start to the season, looking like a completely different player since the upset loss to NIU.
And, while he has had his doubters, the reality is that Leonard has always had this in him. Hampered by injuries and other circumstances outside of his control at Duke, Leonard never was able to fully show the heights he was able to reach.
Now, he’s Senior Bowl-bound with the chance to be one of the most intriguing quarterback prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. With one last college football game to play, he has completed 66.4% of his passing attempts for 2,606 yards with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Leonard has also made an impact on the ground, finishing more than one game as one of the team’s top rushers, tallying 866 yards and 16 touchdowns on 167 carries this season.
The quarterback first got noticed for that mobility at Duke. He said that he had gotten away with running it for a while, but that teams started picking up on that and addressing it.
“Later in the 2022 season, teams started to send out a QB spy on me,” Leonard told me ahead of the 2023 season. “So I wasn’t able to run the ball as much,” Leonard said. “So we were able to get the ball out and went more to one-on-one matchups on the outside.”
The ceiling Leonard hopes to reach is that of MVP candidate Josh Allen. That goal may have seemed far-fetched at one time for Leonard, but it does not seem at all impossible now as the former Duke signal-caller has defied the odds.
“Josh Allen has a mindset of a runner,” Leonard said. “I think I run a little bit like him,” Leonard said. “We’re both not very good at sliding, which we should get better at.”
One of Leonard’s biggest goals throughout his process has been his release, something that he has refined doing offseason training with QB Country.
“I’ve been really trying to get more of a whippy arm, and I look to Mahomes for that,” Leonard said.
He’s put all of that together now and has a chance to put it to the test against one of the nation’s best defenses in the Ohio State Buckeyes, who largely stifled the Texas offense in the 28-14 Cotton Bowl victory over the Longhorns.
Leonard knows exactly what he is up against.
“I think they’re very talented. They know exactly who they are and what they do,” Leonard said.
“They do a good job of getting to the quarterback, setting picks, and landing home. In the secondary, when you think of a stereotypical DB or what a good safety looks like, they got it.”
It will be interesting to watch how things shake out as Leonard and his Fighting Irish face the Buckeyes at 7:30 p.m. ET in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Monday.
