Sources: Auburn, Notre Dame destinations to watch for Riley Leonard

Riley Leonard has quickly become the most sought-after quarterback in the transfer portal.

The Duke quarterback entered his name into college football’s free agency on Wednesday night, leaving the Blue Devils after three seasons.

According to a source close to the quarterback, Leonard is expected to be the top target for Notre Dame. Head coach Marcus Freeman has been candid that the Fighting Irish are planning to shop for a quarterback in the portal.

Notre Dame won’t be the only suitor. Auburn is expected to be given a hard look, too. An Alabama native, moving closer to home and playing in the SEC could be attractive to the 6-foot-4, 215-pound quarterback, according to the source.

An ankle injury sidelined Leonard from five games this season. In 27 career games with the Blue Devils, Leonard threw for more than 4,400 yards and 24 touchdowns. Returning for another year is thought to only boost his draft stock.

An official timetable has not been set yet by Leonard’s camp, but he is expected to take official visits. Leonard’s agency QB Reps confirmed to On3 on Friday that he will not be taking any official visits this weekend.

“Riley’s first order of business is to make sure he’s handling his departure from Duke the right way out of respect to the coaching staff, his teammates and his professors and classmates,” the agency said in a statement to On3. “He is also focused on completing his academic assignments. He’s a student first.”

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Notre Dame won big in the transfer portal this past offseason, landing former Wake Forest star Sam Hartman. The Fighting Irish currently have Steve Angeli on their roster, who could challenge Leonard. Four-star quarterback CJ Carr is set to arrive in South Bend this winter.

While Auburn’s Payton Thorne does have another season of eligibility, Leonard could provide a talent boost to Tigers’ quarterback room.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

Transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal starts with the school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship is no longer valid. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school does not have to cover their scholarship.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask for a “do not contact” tag on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want contact from schools unless they initiate the communication.