How Riley Leonard Will Change Notre Dame’s Offense

Let’s go back to September 30th, 2023, week seven of the college football season. Notre Dame had just rallied back to pull off a victory over Duke. However the story afterward wasn’t about the game-winning drive, it was about what happened after the game. It was about Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman, waiting outside the blue medical tent for Duke quarterback Riley Leonard. Leonard had gotten hurt a few plays earlier on Duke’s last offensive drive. Hartman stood outside the medical tent and waited for Leonard to emerge. As soon as Leonard came out of the tent, he hugged Hartman and went their separate ways.

To most, this seemed like a good act of sportsmanship by Hartman, and that was it. It was a story that was going to get national attention for a week. It would be brought up every time Notre Dame played Duke, but outside of that, you would never hear about it. However, it now has the potential to be a program-defining moment, as it was announced that Leonard will be transferring to Notre Dame, and will be the starter next season.

Now it’s not a surprise that Notre Dame went this route. Marcus Freeman and company believe this roster is good enough to contend for a national championship. The only thing they’re missing is a quarterback. But the question is, what does Leonard bring to the Irish?

The Type of Quarterback Reliy Leonard is

Coming out of high school, Leonard was a three-star recruit coming out of Fairhope, Alabama. He was seen as a very athletic quarterback with a good pocket presence. He also had a good feel as a passer. Sure there was concern with his arm strength, but he had enough talent that people thought he would have no problems transitioning to the college game.

So far Leonard has been able to prove all the scouts right. In two seasons as the starter at Duke, he has thrown for 4,069 yards, 23 touchdowns to nine interceptions. He has a 61.9 completion percentage and averaged 7.3 yards per pass attempt. He has also shown off some skills with his legs, rushing for 1,051 yards and 17 touchdowns.

The only concern for Leonard is the recent struggles as well as the injury. In the two games following the Notre Dame loss, Leonard didn’t look good. He had single-digit completions and didn’t go over 125 passing yards in a game. On top of this his season was cut short due to a toe injury he suffered against Louisville. The concern is were these struggles just a cold streak for Leonard, or did defenses figure him out? Something we could’ve seen play out had Leonard been healthy.

However, this should not be something that should have Irish fans twisted up. Sure his final two games didn’t look great, however, the track record is there that it seems more like an anomaly rather than a sign of things to come. What Irish fans should be excited about is they are getting a guy who has a dual-threat guy who still has the ability to develop into an even better quarterback.

How Will Notre Dame Offense Change?

So Notre Dame is getting a very talented quarterback, but the question is what is this offense going to look like with Leonard under center? Well for starters Leonard fits Freeman’s idea of how the offense should run. He wants the offense to build around a strong offensive line and a good run game. Not just from the running back position, but from the quarterback position as well. A system that is going to fit Leonard’s style very well.

The biggest difference we’re going to see from this season to next is a lot more designed quarterback runs. Trying to take advantage of Leonard’s athleticism and trying to catch the defense off guard. Something they weren’t able to do with Hartman. This is the biggest improvement that Leonard brings to this offense.

Not only will Leonard improve the running game, but the weapons that Notre Dame has brought in will improve the passing game immensely. Along with Leonard, Notre Dame was also able to get Kris Mitchell and Beaux Collins from the transfer portal. They are two of the best receivers in the portal. These two improve the wide receivers’ room a lot. Especially considering that they lost four receivers due to the transfer portal. These two give Leonard actual threats at receiver, something Hartman didn’t have. With these two don’t be surprised if you see Leonard make a massive jump in his passing ability. Overall this is a great pickup for Notre Dame. With Leonard at quarterback, the sky is the limit for the 2024 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Thanks for reading! Credit for my featured image goes to Justin Casterline. You can find more college football content at Belly Up Sports and follow me on X.