2024-25 Football Roster

#13 Riley Leonard Football Roster

QB

Height 6-4

Weight 216

Class Senior/Senior

Hometown Fairhope, AL

High School Fairhope/Duke

Bio / Statistics

HONORS & AWARDS

2024 Comeback Player of the Year Award Semifinalist
Davey O’Brien Great 8 List – Week Nine
Manning Award Star of the Week (Oct. 14)
October Watch List – 2024 Comeback Player of the Year Award
2024 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Top 25
Davey O’Brien Great 8 List – Week Five
Senior Bowl Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 30)
2024 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award Watch List
Davey O’Brien Great 8 List – Week Three
Watchlist for 2025 Senior Bowl
2024 Team Captain
2024 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List
2023 Team Captain
2023 Preseason All-ACC — Phil Steele’s College Football Preview (3rd team)
2023 Preseason All-ACC — Athlon Sports (4th team)
2022 Honorable Mention All-ACC selection
2022 Academic All-ACC and CSC Academic All-District honoree
2022 Recipient of the Duke Football Carmen Falcone Team Most Valuable Player and Offensive MVP Awards
2022 Military Bowl MVP

AS A SENIOR (2024)

at TEXAS A&M (8/31): Debuted as the starting quarterback for the Irish… completed 18 passes for 158 yards with zero turnovers… had an efficiency of 104.2 in the win… rushed for 63 yards and averaged 5.3 yards per run… had 221 total yards of offense
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (9/7): Started as the quarterback for the Irish… completed 20 passes for 163 yards… rushed for 16 yards and a touchdown
at PURDUE (9/15): Started as the quarterback in the win… passed for 112 yards on an 11-of-16 effort… ran for 100 yards… 212 yards of total offense… averaged 9.1 yards per run… matched career-high mark with three rushing touchdowns… longest run of the game was 34 yards… named to the Davey O’Brien Great 8 list for Week 3
MIAMI UNIVERSITY (9/22): Started as the quarterback in the Irish win…completed 16 of 25 passes for 154 yards… made an eight-yard run for the first touchdown of the game… rattled off a 50-yard rushing touchdown… threw a 38-yard passing touchdown… had 12 rushes for 143 yards, averaging 11.9 yards per run… 302 yards of combined offense
LOUISVILLE (9/28): Started as the quarterback for the Irish… completed 17 of 23 passes for 163 yards… rushed for 52 yards on 13 carries… threw a 34-yard and 32-yard touchdown… added a four-yard rushing TD… 215 yards of total offense
STANFORD (10/12): Started as the quarterback for the Irish… completed 16 of 22 passes for 229 yards and no interceptions… accounted for four total TDs in the win… had a six-yard rushing touchdown to get the Irish on the scoreboard… rushed for 31 yards on six carries, averaging 5.2 yards per run… 265 total yards of offense in the game
at GEORGIA TECH (10/19): Started at quarterback… completed 20 of 29 passes for 203 yards… added 10 carries for 51 yards and two rushing touchdowns… longest rush went for 16 yards… 254 yards of total offense
at NAVY (10/26): Started at quarterback… completed 13 of 21 passes for 178 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions… added 10 carries for 83 yards and a rushing TD… 261 yards of total offense
FLORIDA STATE (11/09): Started for the Irish at quarterback… completed 14 of 27 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown… had a 34-yard rush to score a touchdown for the Irish… added a six-yard run to score another touchdown… rushed for 70 yards and averaged 6.4 yards per run
VIRGINIA (11/16): Started at quarterback in the win… completed 22 of 33 passes for 214 yards… had three touchdown passes in the victory… rushed for 32 yards… longest run was 14 yards
ARMY (11/23): Started at quarterback… completed 10 of 13 passes for 148 yards… threw two TD passes on the night… added eight carries for 30 yards… longest run went for 13 yards
at USC (11/30): Started for the Irish at quarterback… completed 17 of 22 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns… carried the ball 12 times for 50 yards and a rushing touchdown… longest run went for 24 yards… over 200 yards of combined offense

PRIOR TO NOTRE DAME (DUKE)

AS A JUNIOR (2023)

Started all seven games in which he played for the Blue Devils, going 95-for-165 and 1,102 yards (57.5 percent completion rate) and three touchdowns
Rushed 58 times for 352 yards (44-yard long) and four touchdowns
Completed 17 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown, also rushing for 98 yards and a 44-yard long (both rushing season highs) on eight rushes and a touchdown, in the season-opening 28-7 win vs. Clemson (9/4)
Had a perfect 100 percent completion rate in the 42-7 win over Lafayette, completing all 12 passing attempts and totaling 136 passing yards, and a touchdown, adding four rushes for 13 yards (9/9)
Went 15-20 for 219 yards, rushing 13 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns (season-high for rushing touchdowns), in the 38-14 vs. Northwestern (9/16)
Completed 23 passes for 248 yards (season high) and a touchdown in the 41-7 win at UConn; also posted four rushes for 30 yards and a touchdown (9/23)
Completed 12 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown vs. Notre Dame; also rushed 18 times for 88 yards (9/30)
Passed for 69 yards on 7 completions, rushing once for 13 yards at Florida State (10/21)
Completed nine passes for 121 yards and had 10 rushes for 13 yards, at Louisville (10/28)
Attended the Manning Passing Academy as a counselor in June 2023

AS A SOPHOMORE (2022)

Started all 13 games
completed 250-of-392 (.638) passes for 2,967 yards with 20 TDs and six INTs while leading the team in rushing with 699 yards on 124 carries (5.64) and 13 TDs; Posted pass efficiency rating of 141.11, 3,666 total offensive yards
Scored 78 points and carded point responsibility total of 198
One of three FBS QBs to amass 2,900+ passing yards and 695+ rushing yards, joining LSU’s Jayden Daniels and North Carolina’s Drake Maye
Joined Oregon’s Bo Nix as the only two FBS QBs nationally to register 20+ passing and 13+ rushing TDs, a first in Blue Devil history
Completed 20+ passes in six games including a season-high 29 completions against Wake Forest
Posted completion percentage of .600 or better in nine contests including a season-best .917 mark (11-of-12) against North Carolina A&T
Threw for 200+ yards in seven weeks
Compiled three 300+ yard passing games, including a season-best 391 yards and four TDs against Wake Forest
Passing yardage versus Wake Forest matched the 20th-best single-game total in Duke history
Threw for 2+ TDs in five contests against Temple, North Carolina A&T, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, and Wake Forest
Had eight completions of 40+ yards including a season-long 81-yard pass to WR Eli Pancol against Northwestern that marked the seventh longest pass in program history
Teamed up with WR Jordan Moore for a 49-yard TD reception versus Pittsburgh for Duke’s longest passing score of the season
Opened the year with 15 consecutive completions against Temple to place tied for third in school history for a single game with Ben Bennett and Thaddeus Lewis
Logged four rushing attempts of 20+ yards including a season-long and team-long 74-yard TD effort against North Carolina
The 74-yard TD jaunt marked the 19th longest in program history and the longest by a Duke QB
Had 10+ rushing attempts in six weeks including a season-high 14 carries against North Carolina and Miami
Rushed for 60+ yards in seven weeks versus Temple (64), North Carolina A&T (66), Virginia (60), North Carolina (130), Miami (61), Boston College (96), and UCF (63)
Rushed for a season-high three TDs against Miami … logged a season-high 406 yards of total offense against Wake Forest
Accounted for 3+ TDs in games against North Carolina A&T (2 pass & 2 rush), Virginia (1 pass & 2 rush), Miami (1 pass & 3 rush), Virginia Tech (2 pass & 1 rush), Pittsburgh (3 pass & 1 rush), and Wake Forest (4 pass)
In the ACC, ranked third in total offensive yards per game (282.00), third in pass attempts, third in pass completions, third in total points responsible for, tied for third in scoring, fourth in pass completion percentage, fourth in passing yards per game (228.23), fifth in TD passes, and fifth in passing efficiency
Nationally, ranked 21st in total points responsible for, 22nd in rushing TDs, 27th in total points responsible for per game, 28th in total offensive yards per game, 30th in total TDs, 40th in passing yards, 44th in completion percentage, 46th in passing TDs, 47th in pass completions per game, and 47th in passing efficiency
Set school single-season records for TDs responsible for (33), most games with 1+ TD pass (12), TD-to-INT ratio (3.33-1), and pass completion-to-INT ratio (41.67-1)
On Duke’s single-season charts, yearly totals ranked tied for first in most wins by a starting QB (9), tied for first in most TD passes of 20+ yards (11), tied for first in most games with 100+ passing yards (13), second in most total offensive yards, second in highest passing efficiency rating (141.11), second in rushing TDs by a QB, tied for second in most consecutive games with 1+ TD passes (12), fourth in rushing yards by QB, tied for fourth in most TD passes, sixth in highest pass completion percentage (.638), seventh in passing yards, and tied for eighth in most games with 300+ passing yards
Additionally, ranked tied for fourth in most TD passes for a single-game (4, Wake Forest) and tied for 10th in highest pass completion percentage for a game (.800, Temple)
On Duke’s bowl game charts, Military Bowl totals rank tied for first for rushing TDs (2), second for pass attempts without a INT (28), tied for second for points scored (12), fourth for pass completion percentage in a half (.750 [12-of-16]; 1st) and game (.679 [19-of-28]), tied for fifth for pass completions in a quarter (10; 2nd), tied for fifth for pass attempts in a quarter (13; 2nd), sixth for pass completions (19), sixth for pass completion percentage in a quarter (.769 [10-of-13]; 2nd), seventh for pass efficiency rating (119.76), eighth for passing yards (173), eighth for average yards per pass attempt (6.18), ninth for pass attempts (28), and ninth for average yards per completion (9.10)
Also tied for the 12th longest pass in school bowl history with 32-yard scoring toss to Jaquez Moore
Joined Thomas Sirk (2015) as the only two Duke QBs in program lore to rush for 600+ and throw for 2,500+ yards in a single-season
Joined Jordan Waters (566), Ja. Moore (508), and Jaylen Coleman (480) to form the first quartet in Duke history to post 400+ rushing yards in a single-season
Coupled with Waters (8), Ja. Moore (5), and Coleman (4) to form the first foursome in Blue Devil history to compile 4+ rushing TDs in a single-season … on the field for 873 snaps.

AS A FRESHMAN (2021)

Saw action in seven games, with one start against Virginia Tech
Finished 37-of-62 (.597) passing with one TD and one INT … added 47 rushes for 173 yards (3.68) and two TDs
Completed 13-of-13 (1.000) pass attempts for a career-high 99 yards versus Louisville in 2021
Hit on 10 passes in the third quarter to tie for fifth on the freshmen charts for most pass completions in a quarter
Tallied a season-long 39-yard pass completion to WR Jalon Calhoun against Wake Forest
Connected with RB Mataeo Durant for a five-yard TD reception against Pittsburgh
Accumulated a year-best 70 rushing yards against Louisville, including a season-long 35-yard scamper for a TD
Added a rushing TD against Wake Forest
On the field for 164 snaps.

PREP AND PERSONAL

Lettered four years at Fairhope under coach Tim Carter
Three-star prospect by ESPN.com, Rivals.com and 247Sports.com
Charted as the No. 14 and No. 20 dual threat quarterback in the nation by Rivals.com and 247Sports.com, respectively
Also rated as the No. 18 and No. 27 overall prospect in the state of Alabama by those organizations
As a senior, threw for 1,900 yards and 25 TDs while rushing for an additional 500 yards
Garnered all-state honors following final season
Also tabbed the Class 7A Player of the Year and the AL.com Coastal Player of the Year after leading the Pirates to a 27-2 record
Helped Fairhope to an overall record of 31-12
Also lettered in basketball and track
Named two-time basketball AL.com Edward Jones Coastal Male Athlete of the Year (2020 and 2021)
Participated in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic and was also one of five players named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association Super All-State Basketball Team.
Born September 13, 2002
Majored in public policy while pursuing a certificate in markets and management during undergrad
Son of Chad and Heather Leonard
Father played basketball at The Citadel (1992-95), matched the school’s single-game record for steals (7 vs. Clemson on Dec. 18, 1994), set the school standard for steals in a season (68 in 1995) and finished career with 137 steals marking the second-highest total in program history
Uncle, Michael Sabol, played basketball at Georgetown University (1990-91).