Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard injures non-throwing shoulder

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard injured his posterior labrum on his non-throwing shoulder in Saturday’s loss against Northern Illinois, multiple sources tell On3.

The former Duke transfer underwent an MRI on his left shoulder over the weekend. Leonard is expected to play on Saturday at Purdue.

Leonard has completed 61.3% of his passes for 321 yards and two interceptions in two games this season. He’s yet to throw a touchdown and has rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown.

An ankle injury sidelined Leonard for five games last. In 27 career games with the Blue Devils, Leonard threw for more than 4,400 yards and 24 touchdowns. He decided to return for another year and transfer to Notre Dame.

Notre Dame won big in the transfer portal the last two offseasons, landing former Wake Forest star Sam Hartman and now Leonard. The Fighting Irish currently have Steve Angeli and former four-star quarterback CJ Carr on their roster.

“No, there was no consideration of that,” Freeman said after Saturday’s loss to Northern Illinois. “We have a lot of belief in Riley and him running our offense.”

Riley Leonard delivered a season-opening win at Texas A&M over former coach Mike Elko. The Fighting Irish entered the NIU game ranked No. 5 in the country.

Leonard shined in his breakout 2022 season, leading Duke to a 9-4 record. He threw 391 times, completing 250 passes for 2,967 yards (7.6 yards per attempt), 20 touchdowns and six interceptions.

The Fighting Irish host Miami (Ohio) and Louisville before their bye week the first week of October. Leonard was draft-eligible a year ago but returned to boost his draft stock. Sources tell On3 that Leonard will continue to evaluate his non-throwing shoulder as the season progresses.