QB Riley Leonard Confident in Direction of Notre Dame's Offense

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard had an odd request for the Irish coaching staff this week.  

The 6-foot-4, 216-pounder asked quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli if he could be live during practice. 

As one would guess, Guidugli didn’t even have to think about his answer. 

“He’s begging me to go live,” stated Guidugli. “I’m like, ‘Guy, you just missed all spring. We’re not going live.’ The other night, when we had the night practice, was our first real live opportunity. He was like, ‘Coach, talk to Coach Freeman to see if I can be live.’ I’m like, ‘I’m not even going to entertain that with Coach Freeman. That’s not an option.’” 

Yet, as a coach and former quarterback, Guidugli can appreciate the will of his quarterback to get hit in practice. 

“That’s him,” Guidugli said. “He wants to be competitive. He wants to be one of the guys. For him to play as much ball as he has and want to be live in fall camp, I think that speaks to the competitive and tough kid he is.” 

Outside of taking live hits in practice, Leonard has been focused on developing a rhythm with the Notre Dame offense, which seems to be going well. 

“I came into fall camp extremely prepared, extremely ready mentally, physically,” Leonard stated. “Obviously, you have eight months of sitting around, rubbing your ankle. You’re going to think about how you can come back to fall camp prepared. I had plenty of time to think about it. I was ready day one.”

Leonard did more than just think about it as he put in the work and it’s led to him feeling confident in his preparations for August. 

“This is the most confident and natural that I’ve felt since being in college,” explained Leonard. “Being a fourth-year guy, you’ve been through so much, you’ve seen the ups and downs, you’ve seen the hate and the love that I’ve gotten throughout my career.

“Right now, I’m just taking it day by day. I treated this camp like I’m not taking it for granted. This is my last year. Let it all on the line. Not taking anything for granted.”

The next step for the Notre Dame offense will be to show they can become a big play offense. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has been tasked with creating more explosive plays and expectations are high with Leonard leading the offense. 

But Leonard may have the highest of expectations. 

“I’m a very aggressive person and somebody who expects a lot out of our offense and me,” said Leonard. “I expect us to be really good against A&M. I’m feeling confident. We’re on the right track of that. I’m really feeling good about it.”

Part of the belief in the offense is coming from what they experience every day on the practice field. Defensive coordinator Al Golden doesn’t know the word easy, so life is can be hard for the offense during a Notre Dame practice, which is also great when looking at the big picture. 

“It doesn’t get any better than to be able to practice against this defense every day,” explained Leonard. “I’m so thankful for it because hopefully, when game time comes, it will be, in theory, a little easier, maybe, to unravel a defense pre-snap and have a presence in the pocket. They’re bringing pressure here and there. They’ve given us every look possible. It will be fun.”

The focus will shift from camp to Texas A&M sooner than later, but don't think Leonard is looking ahead. 

“I’m really loving camp,” said Leonard. “We moved out of the hotel the other day, but I just wanted to stay in there, so I’m staying in the hotel because I’ve been so locked in. I’ve been having such a good time.

“I really want to play against A&M, but I also just want more time in camp because I just love camp. No school, obviously, is like the best part of it. Just straight football at Notre Dame. What more can you ask for?”

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