College football analyst makes an eye-catching remark on Riley Leonard-less Notre Dame offense

On3's J.D. PicKell believes the Notre Dame Fighting Irish offense may thrive without Riley Leonard. Notre Dame hopes to return to compete for the College Football Playoff National Championship again next year. On Jan. 20, they suffered a 34-23 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in last season's championship game.

The college football analyst discussed the Fighting Irish's chances of playing for the national title on Saturday. Despite Leonard's exit, PicKell thinks the offense has the potential to be better next season.

"You lose Riley Leonard. Okay, that's obviously a massive setback, but I don't see the offense taking that much of a step back, to be honest with you. I'll say this: I don't know if we don't see the offense for Notre Dame potentially even improve a little bit when it comes to their output for points per game," PicKell said to On3. (1:51 onward).

Last season, the program was 10th in the league in points per game (36.1) and first in total points (578) with Leonard. The former Notre Dame star played a key role in the Fighting Irish's success. He finished the season with 269 completed passes for 2,861 yards and 21 touchdowns.

One of his best performances was in the team's 49-7 win over the Stanford Cardinals on Oct. 12. He led the Fighting Irish to victory with 16 of 22 completed passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns.

In the loss against the Buckeyes, Leonard performed well despite the team's shortcomings. He completed 22 of 31 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the team in rushing yards with 17 carries for 40 yards and one touchdown.

Leonard is set to enter the 2025 NFL Draft, leaving coach Marcus Freeman with quarterbacks Steve Angeli or CJ Carr to become the new starter for the upcoming season.

J.D. PicKell believes Notre Dame will be more explosive without Riley Leonard as quarterback

PicKell believes the offense could be more explosive with Leonard off the roster. The team will have key players like running back Jeremiyah Love and wide receiver Jaden Greathouse returning for next season.

The analyst also said the Fighting Irish could take more chances on offense because it fits the style of offensive coordinator Mike DenBrock.

"I really believe that with the weapons that Notre Dame has, it will be a key point of emphasis for them to push the ball downfield more regularly. You saw it from Mike DenBrock when he was at LSU," PicKell said (4:13 onwards).

PicKell discussed how DenBrock helped LSU's offense become among the best in the league in the 2023 season. The Tigers were second in total yards (7,065) and first in total points per game (45.5).

PicKell believes the Notre Dame offensive coordinator will improve the team's output to help them compete for a national championship again.