Breaking down what Riley Leonard brings at QB for Notre Dame

Tyler Horka of Blue and Gold broke down almost every Riley Leonard game at Duke and revealed what he brings to the table.

The new Notre Dame quarterback is freakishly athletic and the Fighting Irish received rave reviews after landing him in the transfer portal. He became an immediate plug and play following the departure of Sam Hartman. 

Horka revealed what he found on film when he joined Andy Staples On3.

“The broadcast starts with ‘Hey, remember this guy played basketball in high school and he wanted to be a scholarship basketball player and he had a conversation with Coach K, like a coach to let me walk on man. I think I can do something.’ Every single game starts with that,” Hokra said. “And then you see it. You see why. I mean the 44 yard touchdown run against Clemson. 

“The game that I just most recently did was Northwestern who ended up being a pretty good team last year, and he beat Northwestern twice in his career, but he had a 33 yard run last year against Northwestern, this is obviously before the injury stuff started, that was just incredible because he avoids a sack in the backfield.” 

Leonard’s best season came in 2022 before the injuries piled up last fall. But he is known for his running.

The passing game? Well, it was hit and miss last year compared to his second year at Duke. But still, he can be a game changer with his legs.

“He just kind of elusively sidesteps him, gets up to the line of scrimmage and there’s about three or four guys who could tackle in there and somehow, all of a sudden he’s running free and on the sideline ,he finishes it with a little stiff arm on the defensive back,” Hokra said. “So the athleticism is there. As far as the throwing. I think that’s where this conversation, it doesn’t start there because he is such a good athlete, but it needs to end there because that’s what it’s going to come down to for him.”

Last year (seven games), Leonard finished with 1,102 yards, three touchdowns, three interceptions, a 57.6% completion percentage, 352 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. Not great on paper.

But go back to 2022, and this is what Notre Dame sees for its potential. That year, in 13 games, Leonard threw for 2,967 yards, 20 touchdowns, six interceptions, a 63.8% completion percentage, 699 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. 

As a member of the Class of 2021, Leonard was a three-star recruit out of Fairhope (Ala.) High, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 21 overall prospect in the state, the No. 41 quarterback in the class and the No. 554 overall prospect in the class.