“Will get you beat”: Former Heisman winner Mark Ingram II issues a blunt reality check to Riley Leonard while pointing out his flaws

Former Heisman Trophy-winning running back Mark Ingram II issued a warning to Riley Leonard ahead of the national championship.

Leonard is Notre Dame Fighting Irish's starting quarterback and has been a key part of the offense, both throwing and running the ball. However, he will have his hands full against the Ohio State Buckeyes defense.

Ahead of the national championship game, Ingram spoke on "The Triple Option" and issued a reality check to Leonard ahead of the game.

"At the end of the day, this comes down to Riley Leonard and will he be able to consistently make the throws, consistently make the right decisions, he had two interceptions last week, two interceptions against the Buckeyes will get you beat," Ingram said (Timestamp: 50:42). "Turn the football over against the Buckeyes will get you beat, so I think this will have to be a huge game, the best game of Riley Leonard's life in order for Notre Dame to pull off the upset."

There is no question that if Notre Dame is going to pull off an upset against Ohio State, Leonard will need to be a key part of it. Notre Dame is an 8.5-point underdog against Ohio State on Monday in the national championship game.

Leonard did have some struggles against Penn State, but he was good when the team needed him to help the Fighting Irish get the comeback win.

Riley Leonard went to Notre Dame to win

Riley Leonard says he transferred to Notre Dame from Duke in hopes of winning a national championship. Leonard and the Fighting Irish are now a win away from winning it all, which he says was the team's goal entering the season.

“Yeah, throughout this whole off-season everybody would ask me why I came to Notre Dame and I would give a lot of different answers, but the truth is I came here to win a National Championship and to go to the best team that would give me the best chance to do that,” Leonard said, via On3. "Obviously this is the right place and I made the right decision. That’s why I came here, at the end of the day.”

The national championship will take place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.