Star quarterback Riley Leonard showed his mettle in Notre Dame's clash against Louisville .
Early in the second quarter and Notre Dame leading 21-14, Leonard was on the receiving end of a tough hit by a Louisville defense. To make matters worse, Leonard was subjected to another late hit by a Cardinals defensive lineman, well after the signal caller was already on the turf.
Because of the nature of the hit, it was speculated that Leonard's upper body and head area were impacted by the late hit. At the time of the hit, Leonard completed 6-of-7 pass attempts for 65 yards and a touchdown along with a rushing touchdown.
Because of the nature of the hit and how Leonard reacted afterward , fans expected the officials to call a penalty on the play. Instead, no foul was called and play resumed, despite how vicious the hit to Leonard looked and because of the uncertainty, the Fighting Irish prepared to play the rest of the game without the 22-year-old.
"Uncalled Late hit to ------- hurt Riley Leonard," one fan wrote on X. Another took aim at the referees for seemingly letting the play occur, writing: "Typically ACC refs making sure they are playing for the opposing team."
As such, Notre Dame's head coach Marcus Freeman inserted backup quarterback Steve Angeli to weather the storm while the medical team tended to Leonard and determined his ability to resume. After one play with Angeli, Leonard returned to the game.
Along with showing his toughness against the Cardinals, Leonard's ability to be an impactful quarterback was on full display as he was able to make plays through the air and while carrying the ball. That was just what offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock wanted to see from the 22-year-old looking to boost his draft stock .
"I just hope that continues to build. Because, obviously, when we threw the ball vertically down the field, some good things happened," Denbrock told reporters.
"You hope that the natural progression continues to build and that he takes from the confidence-building that there was in last week's game and continues to push on the gas and cleans up some of the cupcake throws that maybe we missed that we’ve got to hit."
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Leonard's response comes after the 22-year-old was criticized for his slow start to the start the season. After leading Notre Dame to an impressive 23-13 win over Texas A&M, the Fighting Irish were upset by Northern Illinois, 16-14, with some calling out Leonard's lackluster start.
Still, Freeman reiterated how he has faith in the star quarterback ahead of their 66-7 destruction of Purdue. "No one's roles have changed," he said. "Riley [Leonard] has had a really good week of practice.
"I think Riley was excited for the opportunity to go out there and compete. ... It does take time. Like anything we've done, anything we do, with experience comes improvement."
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