CFB fans not surprised by Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman's choice of starting QB: “Shocker,” “Water is wet”

Notre Dame Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman lost influential quarterback Sam Hartman to the NFL. He responded by dipping into the transfer portal and recruiting former Duke Blue Devils signal caller Riley Leonard.

During Saturday's news conference, Marcus Freeman casually mentioned that Leonard would be the Fighting Irish's QB1. Leonard beat Steve Agneli, Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr for the spot.

College football fans reacted on X to the news of Leonard being named Notre Dame's starting QB.

"Hopefully they name Freeman as the head coach for game 1," a fan tweeted.

Most fans reacted like it was the most obvious news.

"Shocker!" One fan tweeted.

"Breaking: Water is wet," another fan tweeted.

"Wait, there were people out there that didn't think Riley Leonard was already the starting QB at Notre Dame? Is Freeman going to name Xavier Watts as the team's starting safety on Monday?" One fan tweeted.

The importance of Riley Leonard to Marcus Freeman

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were ranked No. 7 in the recently released AP Preseason Top 25 Poll. It shows the high expectations around the program for the upcoming season.

The upcoming season will be important for Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman as it will be his third in South Bend. After completing a 10-3 season last year, this year will offer an opportunity for a step forward with the college football playoffs expanded to 12 teams.

The Fighting Irish are yet to win a game in the modern CFP but with the recruitment of quarterback Leonard Riley, ESPN analyst Heather Dinich expects them to correct that statistic in a few months. During an appearance on SportsCenter, Dinich explained how Riley would enable Freeman's team to take that extra step in the upcoming season.

“This year will be different because in the third season under Marcus Freeman, they have done an excellent job with recruiting, with using the transfer portal, starting with quarterback Riley Leonard,” Dinich said. “He’s got a lot of talent around him. And they return nine of 11 starters on a defense that ranked No. 7 in the country last year in scoring defense.

“And that talent – just how loaded is this roster – 11 projected draft picks in 2025. The only other teams in the country that have more are Georgia and Ohio State,” Dinich said. “So this is a team that can really have a special season under Marcus Freeman. But they’ve gotta keep Riley Leonard healthy.”

During an On3 Roundtable, Blue and Gold analyst Tyler Horka revealed that Leonard has stamped his authority in the Fighting Irish's dressing room. Notre Dame Fighting Irish will not have an easy ride to start their season. They head to College Station on Aug. 31 in a tough fixture against coach Mike Elko's Texas A&M Aggies.