Marcus Freeman describes Riley Leonard as a 'special person'

When he transferred into Notre Dame, Riley Leonard probably had visions of taking the Fighting Irish a step further than the program got with former Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman.

The setup was certainly there.

Then Week 2 happened. Leonard went 20-of-32 passing for just 163 yards and threw two interceptions against Northern Illinois. Notre Dame fell 16-14 and many thought its playoff chances might be gone. Leonard, on the other hand, never blinked.

“He is a special person,” coach Marcus Freeman said. “He is an unbelievable human being. As a father, I would want somebody to describe my children the way that I view Riley Leonard. He is a great person.”

Riley Leonard has also been a heck of a football player. He’s received some fringe Heisman Trophy love, having guided Notre Dame to a 10-1 start to the season, on the verge of a playoff berth.

The talented Duke transfer has thrown for 1,937 yards and 14 touchdowns, against just four interceptions. He has also run for 671 yards and 13 scores.

“As a football player he’s done nothing but continuously grow and improve and get better,” Freeman said. “He came in here with high expectations. We won Week 1 and probably masked some of the mistakes that we made, all right? And so you’re on top of the world Week 1, you’re at the lowest of lowest Week 2. But you realize a lot about a person’s character when they’re down.”

Riley Leonard simply never got down. He wouldn’t allow himself to. If he did, Notre Dame was toast. The season could have easily gone in the tank.

But the veteran leader instead just kept plugging away. A couple months later, Notre Dame is poised to reach the College Football Playoff. Potentially even host a game.

Freeman credits Riley Leonard for much of that.

“Riley was a competitor. He’s a fighter. He didn’t feel bad for himself. He didn’t want pity,” Freeman said. “He wanted to work. And that’s what I’ve learned about Riley Leonard. I learned most about him after Week 2 when we were down. Anybody can be up when you’re having success, but he continued to work and now he understands that he determines how good he can be. Right? So he continues to put the work in. He’s playing at a high level and he isn’t changing as a person one bit. Man, he’s a great human being.”