Notre Dame pulls in Duke transfer quarterback Riley Leonard, third transfer QB in four years
A veteran ACC quarterback will transfer to Notre Dame to be the almost-certain starter in 2024. Duke’s Riley Leonard will follow in Sam Hartman’s footsteps, he announced Tuesday morning.
Leonard announced an intention to enter the transfer portal in late November, five days before it even officially opened, and online speculation immediately pointed toward Leonard joining the Irish.
Across the last two seasons as Duke’s starter, Leonard completed 61.9 percent of his passes while averaging 7.3 yards per pass attempt. Memorably, an ankle injury suffered on the Blue Devils’ final snap against the Irish cut short his 2023, attempting to play in two more games but very clearly hampered. Remove those struggling games from his stats, and Leonard’s last two years tick up to a 63.5 percent completion rate and 7.5 yards per pass attempt.
Not a thorough dual threat, Leonard still worries defenses with his legs, taking 150 carries for 1,157 yards in 18 healthy games the last two seasons, averaging 7.7 yards per rush, all sacks adjusted. Averaging 64.3 rushing yards per game may sound like a true dual-threat quarterback, but the 6-foot-4 Leonard prefers to look downfield long before he runs.
Former Duke head coach Mike Elko — yes, the former Irish defensive coordinator who is now Texas A&M’s newly-hired head coach and thus will be Leonard’s first opponent in 2024 — employed a more traditional offense than Hartman ran at Wake Forest, which should make Leonard’s adjustment to South Bend a bit smoother.
What could be a bit more difficult, though, is getting the entire Notre Dame offense into a cohesive rhythm. The Irish have landed two high-profile receiver transfers in Florida International’s Kris Mitchell and Clemson’s Beaux Collins, are seeking a third and will also have to replace up to three offensive line starters, presuming All-American left tackle Joe Alt eventually announces an early entry into the NFL draft.
Notre Dame will get its first look at some new offensive linemen in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 29 against No. 19 Oregon State, with center Zeke Correll already transferred to North Carolina State and right tackle Blake Fisher declaring for the NFL draft. If/when Alt joins Fisher, the Irish offensive line will be entirely in the new territory that should continue into the 2024 season.
Sophomore Steve Angeli will start at quarterback against the Beavers, Leonard not allowed to play for a new team within this season and Sam Hartman already preparing for the NFL draft.
But it should be taken as a certainty that Leonard will be QB1 against Texas A&M on Aug. 31.
If the Irish quarterback depth chart stays intact behind him, Angeli will be joined by current freshmen Kenny Minchey and current recruit CJ Carr, expected to sign his National Letter of Intent this month. It is expected Notre Dame would then exit the quarterback carousel in the transfer market after Leonard’s one season, having reestablished a chain of quarterbacks all one year apart, something it was lacking — at least in quality, though also at points literally — as Marcus Freeman took over the program entering the 2022 season.
INTO THE NFL DRAFT WITH ELIGIBILITY REMAINING
Linebacker Marist Liufau
Linebacker JD Bertrand
Right tackle Blake Fisher
OUTGOING TRANSFERS
Receiver Tobias Merriweather
Receiver Rico Flores Jr.
Receiver Chris Tyree
Receiver Braylon James
Tight end Holden Staes
Center Zeke Correll
Defensive end Nana Osafo-Mensah
Safety Ramon Henderson
Offensive lineman Michael Carmody
INCOMING TRANSFERS
Quarterback Riley Leonard
Receiver Kris Mitchell
Receiver Beaux Collins
Defensive back Jordan Clark
