‘There Was No Place I’d Rather Be’: Riley Leonard staying in Indiana following NFL Draft

Heading into the 2025 NFL Draft there was really only one place Riley Leonard wanted to be, and his wardrobe proved it. 

While most draftees are sent a collection of hats so they can sport their new home’s colors, Leonard instead was decked out, head to toe, in Colts merch. 

“Every time Indiana comes on the screen, I’m crossing my fingers,” Leonard said. “The only place I wanted to be was in Indianapolis. To hear my name called, it didn’t matter the round, I just wanted to be in the building with the guys.” 

In the sixth round of the draft, his wish was granted. When Indianapolis was on the clock with the 189th pick, Leonard’s phone rang — he was staying home. 

“Throughout this whole process there was no place I’d rather be than back in Indiana,” Leonard said. “Even when I was at the combine in Indianapolis, it kind of just felt like home.” 

The Colts interest in the former Notre Dame quarterback was made apparent during the school’s Pro Day, when head coach Shane Steichen made the drive north to South Bend. Steichen attending a Pro Day was out of the ordinary, and the head coach must have been impressed with what he saw out of Leonard. 

“To have a head coach at your pro day and tell you, you do it well afterwards is all the difference,” Leonard said. “To see him take the short drive up to South Bend … was really cool.

“A couple things that they enjoyed was No. 1, my ability to extend plays and make plays as a playmaker. They like my preparation and the way that I handle things off the field. I think the intangibles are something that I can take advantage of, and help the quarterback room in whatever way.” 

Leonard’s connections with the franchise already run deep, much to the thanks of Philip Rivers. The retired quarterback played for Steichen for several seasons back when he was a Charger, and then moved on to be a Colt himself. Both Leonard and Rivers are from Fair Hope, Alabama, and the two have been training together in recent years, even leading up to the draft. 

“We actually threw a couple days ago,” Leonard said. “I went over to his house, he’s got a really cool place in his backyard where they’ll throw. Probably the biggest thing I learned was just how intentional he is about every little thing. If we’re doing the warm up and we’re taking five step drops, those five step drops have to be pristine in order for them to be good enough for him.” 

Leonard already has a solid relationship in the quarterback room, most notably with Daniel Jones. Both Leonard and Jones played the position for Duke, albeit not at the same time, but the bond remains there all the same. 

“The Duke connection is great,” Leonard said. “I think it’s really cool for us … he actually just called me. So to have the Duke connect was really something special. We went out to eat a couple weeks ago when he came down to train with David Morris, we train with the same guy.”

Now Leonard won’t be coming into Indianapolis competing for the starting job. That will be left up to Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones. Leonard will have the time to develop more and if he performs well, could be featured in certain packages. 

“We’ve been following him from Duke, then he goes to Notre Dame and has a lot of success,” Colts GM Chris Ballard said. “He’d been training with Philip Rivers, so of course that's a definite connection. He’s a good player, good athlete, we think he’ll come in and compete.” 

Leonard himself knows he still has more to learn in order to be successful in the NFL. 

“I don’t think I’m nearly the player I want to be and have a lot of potential, but being able to play with my eyes and be a little bit more disciplined in the pocket,” Leonard said. “You’re not going to be able to extend the plays that you did in college as much, so operating in the pocket and playing on time.” 

Just two hours south of the place where he had the most successful season of his career, Leonard will look to build off what he did in South Bend, and compete to one day win more football games in the state of Indiana. 

He’s off to about as good of a start as you can be — he’s already got his uniform for the first day of work.