Duke lineman Jacob Monk reveals his message to Riley Leonard after sack that led to injury

Jacob Monk will have Riley Leonard‘s back on and off the field. On Saturday, the Duke QB went down with an injury on the final play of Duke’s 21-14 loss to Notre Dame. After the game, Monk revealed his message to Leonard.

“Letting him know, I’m always there for him,” Monk said. “I slipped up on the last play of the game and let up a sack. You win some, you lose some, but I feel like as a captain, I can’t let that happen. I just let him know I’m here for him always.”

Leonard’s injury was the conclusion to a subpar performance from the Duke standout. In the loss, Leonard completed just 12-of-his-27 passes for 134 yards and touchdown while also throwing an interception.

Leonard went out like a hero. With Duke down 21-14 and less than 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Leonard scrambled in the pocket, frantically looking for a game-saving bomb. Before the human cannon could let loose, ND’s Howard Cross mauled Leonard from behind, forcing a fumble.

Although Monk took some of the blame for the unfortunate end to a wonderful contest, he shouldn’t. Duke’s front five gave up just two sacks in the contest. After the game, Monk praised Leonard’s toughness.

“You know what you’re going to get from Riley Leonard,” Monk said. “Just a dog at heart.”

Riley Leonard’s hot start

That dog mentality has captured the nation’s interest early this season. Leonard entered the Notre Dame contest completing 67-of-his-99 passes for 778 yards and two touchdowns. The dual-threat quarterback also rushed for 238 yards on 29 carries with four touchdowns.

Leonard didn’t wait to kick off his coming out party this season, exploding for 273 total yards in Duke’s season-opening win over No. 9 Clemson. Despite the disappointing outcome on Saturday, Duke head coach Mike Elko is proud of his team’s effort.

“The resiliency and character of this team is unquestioned, and I think you saw that again in the second half, I thought they battled their tails off,” Elko said. “They fought and they fought, and they got themselves back in a position where they had a chance to win the game.

As for Leonard’s condition, Elko was hesitant to provide an update.

“We’ll have to find out as we go through the week, kind of where he’s at,” Elko said.

Leonard will have time to lick his wounds. Duke will have a bye week before taking on NC State on Oct. 14.