Riley Leonard explains Bible verse on his wrists for national championship game

Before he answered any questions Monday night following a loss in the national championship, Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard pointed to his wrist. Written on it was Proverbs 27:17, a Bible verse that Leonard used as a reminder as to what he was playing for.

Athletes and speaking on religion postgame are a combo as old as time, but there was something different about the way Leonard explained his mindset. Tears welled up in his eyes as he talked about the joy of getting to compete for the title with his teammates.

“Before I answer your question, I want to thank my lord and savior, Jesus Christ, for allowing me the opportunity to play in this game,” Leonard said. “I wrote on my hand Proverbs 27:17, ‘As iron sharpens iron, so should one man sharpen another.’

“Like I said throughout the week, us and Ohio State were the two teams who credited Jesus Christ the most and I think that we strengthen each other in our faiths through coming to this game and competing against each other. So I’m happy to see Godly men come out on top no matter what the circumstance is. I’m very happy to praise Jesus in the lowest of lows as well.”

Leonard opened the game by leading the Fighting Irish on a drive that lasted 9:45 seconds before punching in a rushing touchdown to give them an early lead. Unfortunately, that would be the only time they were ahead all game as they went on to lose 34-23.

Still, Notre Dame made a late push toward the end to cut it to a one-possession game with less than five minutes remaining after trailing by as many as 24 points. Leonard finished the contest with 255 yards passing and three total touchdowns.

Although the Fighting Irish came up short, Leonard reflected on how far the team had come this year. After losing to Northern Illinois in Week 2, the team buckled down and reeled off 13 straight victories to reach the championship game.

Even though they ultimately fell short of the main goal, this season not only gave him priceless memories, but helped him learn some important things about himself.

“As far as this program goes, we’ve learned a lot,” he said. “Been through ups and downs. I’ve been through ups and downs and I don’t even recognize the person I was before I got to Notre Dame. It’s all credit to these guys beside me and everybody else in the locker room.”

Riley Leonard transferred to Notre Dame this offseason after three years at Duke and has now exhausted all of his college eligibility. He’ll hope that he showed enough in leading the Fighting Irish this far to catch the attention of pro scouts as he now gears up for the 2025 NFL Draft.