Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard Wins Air It Out Challenge at Manning Passing Academy
The Manning Passing Academy has been a summer staple on the calendar for the last 27 years. College quarterbacks head to Thibodaux, Louisiana, to compete on Friday night and then be counselors for one of the largest kids camps in the country.
Now, the competition part of the college quarterbacks isn’t exactly the Elite 11 or super intense, but it doesn’t mean the guys don’t get some competitive juices flowing in front of a large crowd as it’s become the highlight of the camp.
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard was one of several quarterbacks in attendance on Friday and also the winner of the Air It Out competition.
Will this catapult Leonard into a Heisman campaign? Let’s not get carried away, but Leonard showing he’s healthy and ready to compete is a significant step in the right direction for him and Notre Dame.
Prior to the event, Leonard was also asked about 2025 Notre Dame quarterback commit Deuce Knight as the two have gotten to know each other well as the future five-star has been to South Bend often and both trained together in Alabama last month.
“Great kid,” said Leonard. “Always willing to learn. I’ll say that’s the biggest thing about Deuce. He’s always asking questions. ‘Hey, how do you do this? What are you thinking here? How do you do this off the field?’
“Constantly asking questions and eager to learn. For a kid with that much hype, it shows a lot about his character.”
Quarterbacks at the Manning Passing Academy
Jackson Arnold - Oklahoma
Rocco Becht - Iowa State
Carson Beck - Georgia
Michael Brescia - Colgate
Hudson Card - Purdue
Brady Cook - Missouri
Myles Crawley - Grambling
Jaxson Dart - Ole Miss
Quinn Ewers - Texas
Donovan Smith - Houston
Dequan Finn - Baylor
Dillon Gabriel - Oregon
Mason Garcia - Austin Peay
Garrett Greene - West Virginia
Mark Gronowski - South Dakota State
Seth Henigan - Memphis
Will Howard - Ohio State
Cade Klubnik - Clemson
Jake Lange - Delta State
Riley Leonard - Notre Dame
Gio Lopez - South Alabama
Arch Manning - Texas
Grayson McCall - NC State
Kyle McCord - Syracuse
Pat McQuaide - Nicholls State
Fernando Mendoza - Cal
Graham Mertz - Florida
Jalen Milroe - Alabama
Maalik Murphy - Duke
Garrett Nussmeier - LSU
Jackson Proctor - Dartmouth
Drew Pyne - Missouri
Jaylen Raynor - Arkansas State
Will Rogers - Washington
Eli Sawyer - Southeastern Louisiana
Brayden Schager - Hawaii
Blake Shapen - Mississippi State
Preston Stone - SMU
Tyler Van Dyke - Wisconsin
Jace Wilson - Texas Southern
Chris Zellous - Hampton
Dante Moore - Oregon
Nicholas Vattiato - Middle Tennessee State
Chris Gonzales - West Carolina
Paxton DeLaurent - Southeastern Missouri State
Will McElvain - Central. Arkansas
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