Coach | Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard's Upside Is "Tremendous"
David Morris is convinced Notre Dame landed an absolute stud in Riley Leonard…on and off the field.
“First of all, Riley's one of the best human beings I've ever met in my life,” says Morris, founder of QB Country and Leonard’s personal quarterback coach.
“An incredible kid with high character, incredible work ethic, knows what it means to earn it and it doesn't believe in being handed or given anything. He comes from an incredible family, faith-driven people, and he lives it in a way that is authentic. I do think that the faith aspect of Notre Dame was legitimately a factor here because that's so important to him.
“Then, on the football field, he's a special competitor. He was the player of the year in basketball down here and was always a guy who played multiple sports.”
But obviously the Irish brought the former Duke signal-caller in to play quarterback.
“On the football field, he did in high school what you saw him do at Duke,” says Morris. “He can throw it with anybody in the country and he can make incredible plays when everything breaks down or in the QB run game if he needs to.”
Morris doesn’t downplay Leonard’s potential.
“ I think he's a first-round talent,” he says. “I think he's a pro when it comes to above the neck. I think he's a guy who in a way still hasn't come close to hitting his peak or his ceiling. I think he's grown a lot.”
Morris expects Leonard’s game to grow in virtually every area.
“I think he will grow in all aspects,” he says. “He's a guy who is very accurate. I think he wants to throw the ball downfield more and he's excited to do that there at Notre Dame. I know that's something he's excited about.
“I hate to be general, but I think he's going to improve everywhere.”
Morris calls Leonard’s “upside is tremendous” based in part on the fact that Leonard has only been focusing strictly on football for a few years now.
“He'll continue to get better. I think Notre Dame's getting a guy that is a program-changing leader on and off the field.”
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