Riley Leonard's Path to the National Title Game

Photo by Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard will play in the biggest game of his career on January 20, when No. 7 Notre Dame (14-1) faces off against No. 8 Ohio State ( 13-2) in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in Atlanta. Leonard's college football journey began as a three-star prospect out of Fairhope, Ala., and he'll look to end it in Atlanta as a national champion.

Three-Star Prospect to Power Four Starter

Coming out of Faihope High School, Leonard was a dual-sport athlete excelling in basketball and football. In a recent interview on "The Rich Eisen Show," Leonard said he originally thought he would play basketball in college because he was not heavily recruited in football. That changed when he received an offer from Coach David Cutcliffe of the Duke Blue Devils.

Leonard signed with the Blue Devils on Dec. 16, 2020, and enrolled at Duke on June 4, 2021. He played in seven games his freshman year, including one start. In 2022 Mike Elko took over as head coach after Duke and Cutcliffe decided to part ways. Leonard passed for 2,967 yards, 20 touchdowns and 6 interceptions in his first year as a starter leading the Blue Devils to 9 wins as the starter his sophomore season.

Leonard and Duke got off to a hot start in 2023, beating a ranked Clemson team in the opener. After defeating the Tigers, the Blue Devils won three straight and were ranked 17th in the Associated Press Poll before facing No. 11 Notre Dame. With 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter and needing to drive 80 yards to tie the game, Leonard stepped up in the pocket and was sacked by Notre Dame's Howard Cross. Leonard suffered a high ankle sprain during the play. Leonard returned to the field three weeks later against Florida State where he aggravated his ankle injury. In Duke's next name against Louisville, Leonard suffered a season-ending toe injury in what ultimately became his last game at Duke.

Leonard Joins Fighting Irish

On Nov. 26, 2023, Mike Elko was hired as the head coach at Texas A&M University, leaving Duke without a head coach. Following the 2023 season, Leonard entered the Transfer Portal for his final season of eligibility.

Even though Leonard grew up in Alabama, he's always admired the Fighting Irish. His favorite movie as a child was "Rudy" and his great-grandfather, James E. Curran, played for Notre Dame in the 1940s. When Leonard entered the portal, Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman came calling, and it was an opportunity he couldn't refuse. Leonard committed to the Fighting Irish on Dec. 12, 2023, calling it a dream come true.

Leonard did not have the smoothest start to his career at Notre Dame as he was hampered by the lingering high ankle sprain he suffered against the Irish as the quarterback for Duke. He had two surgeries in the offseason, a Tight Rope procedure to repair the ankle sprain in January and another in March to repair a stress fracture that was forming in the same leg. Leonard missed most of spring practice due to the injury making his transition much more difficult.

Leonard and the Fighting Irish have played extremely well this season with their only blemish being a bad home loss to Northern Illinois University in Week 2. Freeman got his team refocused and the Irish have won 13 in a row since the loss.

Living the Dream

Leonard has been a big part of the Irish's success throwing for 2,606 yards and 19 touchdowns while completing 66.7 percent of his passes. He's added 16 touchdowns on the ground while rushing for 866 yards.

© Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Leonard's dream came true when he became the starting quarterback for Notre Dame, now he has the opportunity to make the dreams of the Fighting Irish faithful come true with a win against Ohio State in the national championship game.