Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard surprises GF Molly Walding with a beautiful bouquet: "Homecoming queen"

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard has had a rollercoaster a few months after entering the transfer portal from the Duke Blue Devils. He decided to play for Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman in South Bend as they attempt to regain elite status in college football.

Last week, the talented Riley was named QB1, beating out Steve Agneli, Kenny Minchey and C. J Carr for the post. Off the gridiron, his social life seems to be thriving as well, with his long-term girlfriend Molly Walding. He recently posted a picture of Walding on his Instagram story, carrying a bouquet with the caption:

"@molly.walding Homecoming queen finalist."

Riley Leonard's IG story

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Riley Leonard and Molly Walding are high school sweethearts

The couple started dating when they were both students at Fairhope High School and they celebrated their six-year anniversary on December 22, 2023.

Molly Walding showed her appreciation for Riley Leonard when he appeared on an episode of the "Jake & Friends" podcast to open up about his life. She reposted a link to the podcast on her Instagram stories with a heartfelt note to her boyfriend.

"I'm so proud of how you lead others with vulnerability and humility! You are making an impact wherever you go! Feeling super lucky to grow alongside you," Walding wrote.

Leonard's girlfriend has always appeared on the sidelines to support him, even when he played for the Duke Blue Devils. Ahead of the 2024 college football season, the couple took a trip to Chicago, which they prominently shared on their Instagram pages.

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Riley Leonard under pressure at Notre Dame

Riley Leonard will have quite the task trying to replace former Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman as the Fighting Irish's signal caller.

The optimism surrounding Notre Dame is mostly down to an ever-improving roster under coach Marcus Freeman and it is reflected in the Fighting Irish's No. 7 AP Preseason Top 25 Poll ranking.

After an ankle injury that required two surgeries, there were doubts about whether he could hack it and in an in-house interview, he revealed that he had the same doubts about himself.

“Am I the right guy for this system? Did they intend to have a transfer quarterback who just got hurt? What’s he like? How’s he going to do this? How’s he going to do that?” Leonard said (per AOL.com). “Being able to come out here and prove myself this fall camp has just been the best feeling in the world.”

The pressure will be on Leonard to prove that he can justify the hype that he arrived with from Duke via the transfer portal.