Notre Dame starting QB: Who will replace Riley Leonard in 2025?

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard led the Fighting Irish to the national championship game, where they ultimately lost 34-23 to the rampant Ohio State Buckeyes. Leonard, who transferred from Duke in Dec. 2023, had an impressive season but will now head to the NFL Draft.

Following the disappointment of the championship game and Leonard's departure, one pressing question remains: Who will coach Marcus Freeman rely on as his new quarterback next season?

Who will replace Riley Leonard in 2025?

Junior quarterback Steve Agneli will enter spring training as the lead quarterback to replace Riley Leonard. He earned his chops in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish's narrow 27-24 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions when he replaced Leonard who had to leave the field for a concussion evaluation at the end of the first half.

The Fighting Irish were 10-0 down when Angeli replaced Leonard, going 6-of-7 for 44 yards. Notre Dame scored a pivotal 41-yard field goal, which influenced the final result. The Fighting Irish then outscored the Nittany Lions 27-14 for the remainder of the game.

Angeli has tallied 268 yards on 66.7% completion, resulting in three touchdowns in limited game time this season. His sole start for the Fighting Irish came last season when QB1, Sam Hartman, opted out of the Sun Bowl in preparation for the 2024 NFL Draft. Angeli registered 232 yards and three touchdowns in the 40-8 win against the Oregon State Beavers.

Riley Leonard's replacement gets hype

During his postgame news conference after the Orange Bowl, charismatic Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman was full of praise for Riley Leonard's likely replacement, Steve Angeli.

“It’s earned,” Marcus Freeman said. “We’ve got a lot of confidence in Steve, and those other guys that had to step up, when their numbers are called. They’ve earned that confidence in practice, and Steve’s earned it in some game opportunities. But you earn the confidence from your coaching staff and from your teammates in practice."

“So, if you’re thrust into this opportunity out in the game, where everybody else can see you, that’s when they get to learn about you. But you know, we had a lot of confidence in Steve and what he can do, and we weren’t just going to put him in there to hand the ball off, we were going to try to go to score, and we ended up scoring three points.”

Steve Angeli has demonstrated he deserves a shot at the QB1 position for the Fighting Irish, as he's consistently shown flashes of brilliance whenever he has stepped in for Riley Leonard.