Riley Leonard had NFL motivation behind Notre Dame transfer decision

Riley Leonard had his sights set on elevating his NFL draft stock when the former Duke quarterback opted to transfer to Notre Dame .

Last November, Leonard entered the transfer portal after Duke head coach Mike Elko departed the program in favor of an open position at Texas A&M. While the talented signal-caller showed flashes of brilliance during his first three collegiate seasons, injuries ultimately derailed his tenure with the Blue Devils.

After leading Duke to a perfect 4-0 start last season - including an improbable win against Clemson - things quickly fell apart for the Blue Devils once Leonard suffered a high ankle sprain in a 21-14 loss to Notre Dame.

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Three weeks later, Leonard reaggravated his ankle injury against Florida State, only to sustain a toe injury on his left foot during the ensuing game versus Louisville. The final health setback required surgery, sidelining the South Carolina-native for all of November.

When the dust had finally settled on Duke’s rollercoaster season, Leonard completed 95-of-165 passes for 1,102 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. He additionally rushed 58 times for 352 yards and four touchdowns.

The up-and-down performance nonetheless impressed Notre Dame, who had an opening at the quarterback position after Sam Hartman ran out of eligibility. While on an official visit to the university, Leonard established an immediate connection with many of his potential future teammates.

“So it’s a couple things,” Leonard said earlier this summer when asked why he chose to transfer to Notre Dame. “No. 1, the players. On my official visit, we took a dinner downtown, and that’s kind of what ended up convincing me that I wanted to go there.

“You walk into the locker room every day, you want to be around guys that just have your back, and are great people, on and off the field, and Notre Dame’s got it. The coaching staff, as well. You’ve got to throw that I there. The coaching staff plays a big part.

Leonard also conceded that the chance to play under Mike Denbrock, who molded quarterback Jayden Daniels into the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft , could not be passed up. Suiting up for an esteemed offensive coordinator for a historic program would help generate far more attention around the 21-year-old - perhaps improving his draft stock.

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“Obviously, you have a coordinator like Mike Denbrock, coming from LSU, where Jayden Daniels obviously had a great year, so I’m exciting to get into that offense,” Leonard said. “He always say we’ve got the keys to the car, so to be able to operate an offense like that, that’ll be a lot of fun for me.”

In his first game with the Fighting Irish, Leonard did just enough to help propel No. 7 Notre Dame to a 23-13 win over No. 20 Texas A&M at Ryan Field. He completed 18-of-30 passes for 158 yards on the night, additionally rushing for 63 yards on 12 carries.