Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard's spring practice availability jeopardized by second surgery
Riley Leonard can’t catch a break. Irish head coach Marcus Freeman announced Saturday that the Notre Dame quarterback, who transferred in after three seasons at Duke, will be out for a few weeks after he suffered a setback with his nagging lower-body injury. Freeman told reporters Leonard underwent a second surgery on his ankle.
“Riley Leonard will be out a few weeks due to an additional surgery he had on his ankle on Friday to address a stress fracture that was beginning to develop,” Freeman said. “Basically, the surgery was to exchange the current plate he had in his ankle with a new one.
“The doctors thought it went extremely well. The overall prognosis and health of his ankle is excellent. So, we’ll see when he can get back. We’re not putting a timetable. We know it’s going to be a few weeks. We’re not saying he’s out for the spring. There could be a chance he comes back and participates in some capacity during spring ball.”
Leonard missed two games in October after Notre Dame defensive tackle Howard Cross III accidentally injured his ankle in the final minute of the Irish’s 21-14 win over the Blue Devils on Sept. 30. Leonard left the field on crutches that night. Still, he returned to face Florida State three weeks later. He aggravated the injured ankle in a 38-20 loss to the Seminoles.
Leonard clearly wasn’t right in what ended up being his final appearance in a Duke uniform, a 23-0 defeat at Louisville a week after the loss to FSU. He completed 9-of-23 passes for 123 yards with 0 touchdowns and 1 interception. He only carried the ball 10 times for 13 yards, which is not a Leonard-like stat line when he’s at his best.
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The question becomes, when will he be at his best again?
Leonard had tightrope ankle surgery in January. He recovered fully for the start of spring practice on March 7, but just a couple of weeks later, he’s not right again. Leonard did not play last November because of a toe injury. The ankle was not cited as the reason he shut it down, but it had to have played a role in the decision. It’s clearly still bothering him all these months later.
Junior Steve Angeli will serve as Notre Dame’s No. 1 quarterback for the rest of spring practices, which culminate in the annual Blue-Gold Game on April 20. Angeli made his first career start in the Sun Bowl this past December. He completed 15-of-19 passes for 232 yards with 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in a 40-8 Notre Dame win over Oregon State.
Angeli is 32-of-44 for 504 yards with 7 touchdowns and 1 interception in his two-year career. Notre Dame also has sophomore Kenny Minchey and early enrollee freshman CJ Carr on the spring practice roster. Minchey was the Irish’s third-string QB as a true freshman behind starter Sam Hartman and backup Angeli. Carr comes in as the No. 6 quarterback recruit in his class according to the On3 Industry Ranking.
Leonard is by far the most experienced quarterback on the Notre Dame roster, having started 21 games in his career. Angeli, Minchey and Carr have combined for one start. Leonard is 382-of-619 (61.7 percent) for 4,450 yards with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his career. He’s also run 229 times for 1,224 yards (5.3 yards per carry) with 19 rushing scores.
He’ll only add to those totals in 2024 if he gets healthy in the next six months, though.
