"Riley Leonard has an unbelievable amount of moxie" - Mike Elko makes case for injured QB as one of the 2023 Heisman candidates

Duke coach Mike Elko tried his best to promote Riley Leonard, his quarterback, for the Heisman Trophy on "The Pat McAfee Show" recently.

While McAfee observed that Leonard isn't yet part of the Heisman conversation yet, Elko declared:

“Should be, should be. If we can get that out there. Should be.”

The stage is set for Riley Leonard to catapult himself into the Heisman discussion this season.

Elko’s praise goes beyond mere statistics. According to him, Leonard possesses the unique ability to rise to the occasion with his playmaking skills.

“Riley Leonard has an unbelievable amount of moxie," Elko told Pat McAfee.

No. 19 Duke (4-1) lost 21-14 to No. 11 Notre Dame as the Blue Devils fell short in their quest to reach 5-0 for the first time since the 1990s.

“We’ve got a lot of kids who are willing to do an awful lot for each other, and I think that, in this day and age, still wins football games,” Elko said.

Elko highlighted Riley Leonard's performance in a 28-7 win over then-No. 9 Clemson in the season opener.

“He’s a tremendous athlete," Elko said. "We saw that in the Clemson game. He can throw the ball, he can make all the throws on the field and he’s kind of been our guy since we’ve been here. I think everyone else has just kind of taken a little bit more notice of him now.”

Riley Leonard stats

Junior quarterback Riley Leonard hails from Fairhope, Alabama, and is igniting Heisman dreams at Duke. Blue Devils coach Mike Elko has been his biggest advocate lately.

Last season, Leonard threw for 2,967 yards and ran for another 699. Leonard had 33 touchdowns as Duke clinched a remarkable nine-win season in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Fast forward to the current season, and Leonard's numbers may seem modest compared to his peers. The QB boasts 778 passing yards and two touchdowns. He has 238 rushing yards and four scores. He stands 21st nationally in total QBR.