'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Quarterback Riley Leonard and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish had a stellar season, reaching the National Championship Game. Although they lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes, it was still a great season under the leadership of head coach Marcus Freeman.
Riley Leonard will not be back with Notre Dame next season. He declared for the 2025 NFL draft and will start his professional career. On Wednesday, Leonard appeared on "Infinity Sports Network" and spoke about what it was like to play under coach Marcus Freeman.
"When you see him in the media and all that, you might see him as this public figure and like he's got his own brand," Leonard said. "But when you go into the place, he's just an extension of the team. He's always around, he's just always there greeting everybody. He know all the janitor's names. Unreal person, I learned so much from his character because I was just so close to him." [6:10]
Trending
"You could probably assume that a guy ... like we'll go out and everybody recognizes him and wants a picture with him and I'm like, I'm the quarterback. But he's just so humble and it was great playing for him. He exceeded all expectations I had and how could any recruit not want to play for him?"
Riley Leonard is projected to be a late-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft
Despite reaching the National Championship Game as a quarterback, Riley Leonard is still not projected to be a top draft pick. In his first and only season at Duke, he completed 269 of 403 passing attempts for 2861 yards and 21 touchdowns. While that is a strong season, it does not rank him among the top QBs in the class.
Fortunately for Leonard, this is a weak draft class for QBs. As a result, his somewhat middling season still places him as the No. 10-ranked QB in his class, according to CBS Sports. They have him as the No. 220-ranked player in the draft overall.
As a result, Leonard is expected to be selected in one of the later rounds. However, with QBs, there is always a chance he could go much earlier than expected. There is a lack of top QB talent in this draft, so if a team wants a QB, they could decide to take Riley Leonard a little early. The draft starts on Thursday, Apr. 24 and will run through April. 26.
Notre Dame Fans? Check out the latest Notre Dame depth chart, schedule, and roster updates all in one place.
