Duke QB Riley Leonard enters transfer portal; Notre Dame rumored destination
On Wednesday afternoon, Duke rising senior quarterback Riley Leonard entered the transfer portal. Almost immediately, several college football outlets gave a likely destination for the two-year starter out of Fairhope (Ala.) High:
Notre Dame.
Sources told On3’s Pete Nakos that the Irish are a team to watch for Leonard. Other outlets such as ESPN and the Athletic reported the same thing.
Nakos also put Auburn on his watch list for Leonard’s services.
“The Fighting Irish want to add a quarterback,” wrote Nakos. “An Alabama native, playing in the SEC would be attractive. An official timetable has not been set yet by Leonard’s camp, but he is expected to take official visits.”
Crucially, the likely soon-to-be former Duke entered the portal with a “do not contact” tag, meaning that interested teams cannot reach out to him on their own volition. In all likelihood, this means that Leonard already knows — or has a pretty good idea — where he’s going.
“I’ve made the decision to leave knowing I’m better prepared for the challenges ahead — on and off the field,” Leonard said in an Instagram post announcing he would transfer from Duke.
Leonard only has one year of eligibility remaining. He began his college career in 2021, so he does not have the “COVID year” option, and he did not redshirt in any of his three seasons.
His announcement comes three days after ex-Notre Dame defensive coordinator Mike Elko, his head coach with the Blue Devils for the past two seasons, was hired as the head coach at Texas A&M. Elko engineered a massive turnaround at Duke, going 16-9 over two seasons after the Blue Devils went 3-9 in 2021, the year prior to his arrival.
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Leonard shined in his breakout 2022 season as a sophomore at Duke. He threw 391 times, completing 250 passes for 2,967 yards (7.6 yards per attempt), 20 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, but his biggest strength proved to be his legs.
As a runner, Leonard carried 124 times for 699 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2022. He followed that up with 58 carries for 352 yards and 4 scores in 2023. At 6-foot-4, 212 pounds, Leonard is incredibly difficult to bring down.
Heading into the 2023 season, Leonard was considered a potential top prospect among NFL Draft circles. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked him in August as the No. 4 draft-eligible underclassman quarterback in the nation, only behind USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy.
This year, as a junior, Leonard went 95-of-165 for 1,102 yards, 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He only played in two games after suffering an ankle injury Sept. 30 against Notre Dame and a toe injury Oct. 28 against Louisville.
After injuring his ankle, Leonard’s numbers took a dive. Against Florida State and Louisville, he went a combined 16-of-39 for 190 yards with no touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He only tallied 26 rushing yards and he was sacked 4 times.
