Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard has injured non-throwing shoulder, per sources

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard took a shot in the middle of the Fighting Irish’s loss to Northern Illinois on Saturday. He looked uncomfortable after it. Injured, even.

He is. At least a little.

Blue & Gold and On3’s Pete Nakos have confirmed with sources that Leonard injured his left labrum taking a hit against the Huskies. The Fighting Irish signal-caller underwent an MRI on his non-throwing shoulder over the weekend, which revealed the ailment. He is still expected to play Saturday at Purdue in spite of the prognosis.

Leonard has struggled in his first two games with Notre Dame after transferring in from Duke over the offseason. He has yet to throw a touchdown pass and has completed 61.3 percent of his attempts for an average of 160.5 yards per game and 5.2 yards per attempt. He has two interceptions and has run 23 times for 79 yards and a touchdown.

Leonard accounted for 73 yards on Notre Dame’s opening drive of the game against NIU, including 11 on a touchdown rush that put the Irish up 7-0. His play deteriorated from there. He ran the ball fewer times, and his accuracy was off all afternoon.

Both of his two INTs this season came against the Huskies. The second gave the 28.5-point underdogs the ball at midfield with just under six minutes remaining. NIU nursed the clock and kicked a 35-yard field goal with 30 seconds remaining for the 16-14 win.

This all came after Leonard made two heroic passes in the final minutes against Texas A&M in Week 1. Leonard completed a pass to Jaden Greathouse on third and five then hit Beaux Collins for a 20-yard gain all on a drive in which Notre Dame eventually took a 20-13 lead over the then-No. 20 Aggies in the final two minutes in College Station.

Leonard was still hit-or-miss in that game, though, and his performance in his Notre Dame home-opener has led some Irish fans to call for junior quarterback Steve Angeli to get a chance to play on Saturdays. Angeli has only made one start in his career. He is 15-of-19 for 232 yards with 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

For the time being, though, Notre Dame will still roll with Leonard on Saturday and going forward if he’s able to improve his play and give the Irish better chances of winning ballgames. Head coach Marcus Freeman said Monday he has every bit of confidence that will be the case.

“We have a lot of belief in Riley and him running our offense,” Freeman said.

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