Riley Leonard Articles - Page 2

It was an exciting Friday night for the Notre Dame football team as they beat the Indiana Hoosiers to advance in the College Football Playoff. Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman spoke about the win but also wanted to harp on why the current team is unlike any others, especially one that has overcome […]

Friday night marked the first game of the new 12-team College Football Playoff, and Notre Dame was ready to make a statement. Marcus Freeman’s group came out of the gates firing in an in-state rivalry renewal against No. 10-seed Indiana, and the Fighting Irish quickly ran away with the game. Notre Dame took a 27-3 […]

In the first round of the College Football Playoff, as the Notre Dame football program faced off against Indiana, Riley Leonard accomplished something that no other Fighting Irish quarterback has in history. To put Notre Dame up 26-3, Leonard rushed in for a one-yard score, tallying his 15th rushing touchdown of the season. With this […]

Friday night hasn’t gone according to plan for head coach Curt Cignetti and Indiana football. The Hoosiers have been outclassed in all three phases of the game in South Bend as Notre Dame clinched a berth in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Eve with a 27-17 win at home. During the third quarter of […]

Notre Dame will kick off the College Football Playoff when the Fighting Irish host the upstart Indiana Hoosiers Friday night in a game that will be nationally televised by ABC at 8 p.m. ET. Head coach Marcus Freeman’s team has enjoyed an exceptional 11-1 season and Notre Dame is favored by 7 points over the […]

Notre Dame and Indiana have the distinct honor of kicking off the first-ever College Football Playoff first-round matchup on Friday night. The No. 7 Fighting Irish will host the No. 10 Hoosiers in South Bend, in what’s shaping up to be a cold and possibly snowy evening. The Irish (11-1) missed out on a first-round […]

Notre Dame football quarterback Riley Leonard discussed the significance of the Fighting Irish’s College Football Playoff game against Indiana. The showdown between the two in-state schools will open this new twelve-team format at the iconic Notre Dame Stadium. With the possibility of snow showers in South Bend, Friday night should be one to remember. Head […]

In reality, Notre Dame didn’t need to make a statement to the College Football Playoff selection committee on Saturday afternoon. Whether they defeated the USC Trojans by 1 point, 11 points or 111 points, it was overwhelmingly likely that as long as the Fighting Irish finished the season 11-1, they’d be locked into the 5-seed and […]

Notre Dame football has a big game on Saturday against Army. The Fighting Irish are in position to grab a College Football Playoff spot, but certainly won’t do that without this victory. As an independent, Notre Dame football doesn’t have the luxury of playing in a conference championship. It needs the chips to fall a […]

When Notre Dame’s 2024 schedule was released, most fans likely circled marquee matchups such as the road game at Texas A&M, hosting Louisville and Florida State, and the traditional rivalry against USC. It’s doubtful, storied history or not, that many highlighted Navy as a pivotal game, except perhaps fans of the Midshipmen. Yet, here we […]

Notre Dame football improved their record to 6-1 in a decisive 31-13 win against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard completed 20-of-29 passes for 203 yards and an interception. He also added 51 rushing yards and two scores. His 10 rushing touchdowns this season make him the third Notre Dame signal-caller […]

Notre Dame football quarterback Riley Leonard is opening up about what the game means to him. Leonard says he always feels a bit anxious making wide-open throws to wide receivers. WATCH: #NDFootball QB Riley Leonard on the wide-open throws that “freak me out.” pic.twitter.com/9e34peWSxg — Mike BerardinoNDI (@MikeBerardino) September 28, 2024 “Those are the ones […]

In a recent game where expectations were high, Notre Dame football faced unexpected difficulties, falling into an early deficit against a perceived weaker opponent. The atmosphere at Notre Dame Stadium took a tense turn as starting quarterback Riley Leonard struggled with his performance, prompting audible booing from the home crowd. The dissatisfaction among fans became […]

After not knowing if he’d even play this week, Riley Leonard had one of the best first halves in Notre Dame football history. He became the first FBS player with 100 or more passing yards, 100 or more rushing yards and three or more rushing touchdowns in the first half since Louisville’s Lamar Jackson accomplished […]

Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman said that there will be no change at quarterback when asked about who is the first on the depth chart, and that Riley Leonard’s practices have been “really good” in decision making and that he has made some quality throws, according to Pete Sampson of The Athletic. Riley Leonard […]

The Notre Dame football program took a tough loss to the Northern Illinois Huskies in their second week of the season. The 16-14 defeat was unexpected, considering Notre Dame is slated to be a College Football Playoff contender. Starting quarterback Riley Leonard had a tough day on Saturday and suffered an injury that has his […]

Following their 23-13 win over Texas A&M in College Station on the opening Saturday of the season, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were being penciled into the newly expanded College Football Playoff by essentially everyone whose opinion was worth listening to. Actually, forget the pencil. There were Sharpies all around after Notre Dame won on […]

In true letdown game fashion, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were stunned by the Northern Illinois Huskies on their home field on Saturday afternoon. This loss comes just one week after the Irish went into hostile territory and secured a win against Texas A&M, which most assumed punched Notre Dame’s ticket to the College Football […]

The Notre Dame football squad struggled in the 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois. Coach Marcus Freeman could not pull stops against the Northern Illinois offense throughout the whole game. Moreover, Riley Leonard and the rest of the Fighting Irish’s weapons were just not sharp enough to get the win. What’s the result? Well, they sunk […]

The quest for the national championship for Notre Dame football started Saturday with a win over the Texas A&M Aggies, 23-13, on the road in what was a hard fought victory. There was an interesting storyline here which was Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard coming back from injury and beating his former Duke head coach […]

While fans are locking in their bold predictions for Notre Dame football’s opener against Texas A&M, there is no doubt that the team has big aspirations for the upcoming season. With people making their last minute predictions on the Fighting Irish, Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman has gold on the mind with his […]

ESPN’s College Gameday will be in the Lone Star State for the first full weekend of the college football season, as the Notre Dame football program kicks off their 2024 season with a visit to College Station to take on the new-look Texas A&M Aggies. This matchup is one of just three during the opening weekend of […]

It’s an exciting time to be a college football fan, and one fan base that is excited for the season is Notre Dame football fans. The Fighting Irish have a lot of hype coming into the 2024 season. We’re almost there. Another long college football offseason is almost over as the calendar now reads August, […]

As there always is with the Notre Dame football team, lofty expectations are set for the program heading into the third season under head coach Marcus Freeman. In an interview with Pete Sampson of The Athletic, Freeman reflected on this past season while also previewing the one ahead. However, the third season for any head […]

The transfer portal was a wild and rambunctious ride as it seemingly always is. There was a ton of movement in the 2023-24 college football offseason, from coaches and players alike. One team that was very active in the transfer portal: Notre Dame football. The Fighting Irish brought in a ton of top notch talent […]

The 2024 season was quite a year in college football for starting quarterbacks, especially those who had previously transferred. In fact, three of the Heisman Trophy finalists were quarterbacks who had all transferred from a previous school, namely Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix, and winner Jayden Daniels. With that said, we’ve seen the effects the […]

Notre Dame football continues to be a consistent program under second-year head coach Marcus Freeman, who is only 38 years old. He took the Irish from 9-4 in 2022 to 10-3 in 2023 and now has two bowl wins under his belt with two top-25 finishes as well. Freeman, like a lot of young coaches […]

Notre Dame football quarterback Riley Leonard is set to miss winter workouts after undergoing ankle surgery. Leonard suffered an ankle injury in October against Florida State and decided on surgery following the season. Leonard will miss time in the winter and may miss further time during spring practice as he recovers, per Tyler Horka at […]

The college football transfer portal officially opened on December 4, and a ton of names entered the portal this time around. A ton of players have entered and found new homes, and after the New Year’s Six games, a flurry of others (including a mass exodus of Alabama players) decided to enter the portal. So, […]

The Duke football team went 8-5 last season under Coach Mike Elko and have since brought in Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz to run the show in Durham, North Carolina. The hope now is that Duke football can turn the page on a good season and take the next step en route to a […]

Since opening for business on Dec. 4—and really, days before—the college football transfer portal has been running hot, with notable players like former UCF and Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel announcing his transfer to Oregon. The transfer portal has become one of the latest controversial trends in college sports. But no one can deny that it […]

The Notre Dame football team had a pretty solid regular season this year as the Fighting Irish went 9-3 and are ranked #16 in the country heading into bowl season. Notre Dame still has one more game this season as they are headed to El Paso, Texas to take on Oregon State in the Tony […]

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish had a solid season in 2023 despite missing out on their goal of earning a berth in the College Football Playoff. Notre Dame will be losing several players to the NFL, including starting quarterback Sam Hartman. The Irish will need to reload through the transfer portal to contend in 2024. […]

The college football transfer portal continues to spin out of control, but now some of the big names are choosing their next school. On Tuesday, former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard officially announced his decision to head to Notre Dame in a video on his X account. ‘A dream come true Go irish.’ A dream come […]

Since its implementation in the fall of 2018, the college football transfer portal has increasingly gotten intriguing by the year. That’s due partly to its sheer volume of players who have entered (and re-entered) every season, with a great portion of those players being quarterbacks. This year, it’s at its apex, with nearly 100 quarterbacks […]

Notre Dame has emerged as the favorite to land Duke quarterback Riley Leonard. The experienced signal caller chose to enter the transfer portal after the Blue Devils’ best season in decades, with the loss of head coach Mike Elko playing a part in his decision. The Fighting Irish received a flurry of crystal ball predictions […]

Riley Leonard has recently expressed his decision to enter the transfer portal, meaning that his time with Duke Blue Devils is over. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are believed to be a likely landing spot for the former Blue Devils quarterback, and rumors about his looming arrival in South Bend should only get louder amid […]

Though it’s not set to officially reopen until Monday, Dec. 4, the college football transfer portal has already had many players announce their intentions of entering and leaving for other schools. One of those names is former Duke football quarterback Riley Leonard, who after three seasons with the Blue Devils will be off to a […]

Of all the college football players entering the transfer portal, there might not be a bigger belle of the ball than Duke quarterback Riley Leonard. Leonard was an NFL Draft darling with his 6-4 212 pound frame, strong arm, and athleticism and ability as a runner to go with all that. But he didn’t have […]