Mike Elko explains why Riley Leonard didn't return late in game against Florida State

Duke Blue Devils starting quarterback Riley Leonard injured his ankle at the end of Duke’s loss to Notre Dame earlier this season. He was, however, finally able to make his return against the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday night.

For a while, the game was close and Duke looked like it was in a position to pull off the upset. Then, Leonard was sacked and re-injured his ankle. After that, Florida State was able to pull away and win the game by a score of 38-20.

Despite the injury, Riley Leonard spent the rest of the game trying to stay loose on the sideline and convince trainers and coaches he could play. That didn’t happen, though, with head coach Mike Elko explaining that the staff was protecting him.

“He wanted to come back in,” Mike Elko said. “He was begging me on the sideline to come back in. I didn’t feel comfortable with where he was health-wise to bring him back, and so we didn’t do it.” 

Before getting injured, Riley Leonard was 7 for 16 passing for 69 yards and an interception. He also had a 13-yard rush. Throughout the game, he was clearly playing injured but that effort was inspiring the Blue Devils around him. However, when he left the game, the air seemed to come out of Duke.

At the time of his injury, the score was 20-17, Duke had the lead. After that, Florida State scored 21 unanswered points to win by a fairly comfortable margin.

Henry Beliin IV struggled to replace Riley Leonard, only completing one pass for seven yards.

Duke will need to regroup with a road test against Louisville next week. Whether Leonard is able to play or not, however, remains unknown.

Mike Elko praised Riley Leonard in his return from injury

At halftime of the game, Duke held a small lead in a tight game. At that point, it looked like it was going to be a tight finish down the stretch and Blue Devils head coach Mike Elko met with ESPN’s Holly Rowe. There, he explained the impact that Riley Leonard was having on the game, even with the passing game being less than effective for large portions of the first half.

“It’s good. He’s our leader,” Elko said. “Obviously, we’re relying pretty heavy on the run game. We’ve gotta get the passing game going a little bit. I think he looks good. He looks healthy. He’s moving around the way we want him to. Gotta go out and have a big second half.”