Year after year, being the starting quarterback for the Notre Dame football team is one of the most enviable jobs in all of college sports. In 2024, that title goes to Riley Leonard.

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Leonard spent three seasons as a quarterback for Duke, where he completed 382 passes on 618 attempts for 4,450 yards and 24 touchdowns. His 2023 season was ended early due to an ankle injury he sustained in Week 5 against Notre Dame when Duke was 4-0.

Leonard’s performances against the Irish and others impressed Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman (now playing his third full season), so when Leonard entered the transfer portal a week after the Blue Devils’ final regular season game, it took less than two weeks for him to commit to the Irish. Notre Dame was the only school he visited.

A dream comes true. Go Irish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/2Ft09Ho4uj

– Riley Leonard (@rileyleonard13_) December 12, 2023

Leonard’s great-grandfather, James Curran, played at Notre Dame in the early 1940s.

“To be able to live his legacy and feel what he felt back then really means a lot to me, and of course it means a lot to my family too,” Leonard said in a video for clothing brand New Era Cap.

After one game, the game seems to be going quite well and Leonard has convinced the Notre Dame faithful that this could be the team that brings the Fighting Irish back to the top of the college football world.

The Irish, ranked No. 7 at the start of the season, stormed into College Station, Texas, to face No. 20 Texas A&M (now coached by Leonard’s former Duke coach Mike Elko) and went home with a 23-13 victory on Saturday. Leonard threw for 158 yards, added another 63 yards, and his composure and experience against the Aggies’ teeming defense were crucial to the win. Notre Dame rose to No. 5 in Tuesday’s new AP rankings.

Now the Irish appear to have a good starting spot in the new 12-team College Football Playoff. According to ESPN Analytics, Notre Dame has the best chance of winning each of its remaining 11 games, including the final road game of the regular season against USC.

But while Leonard is living his dream of playing for the Irish and winning a national title, he is also trying to grow spiritually. He has said that his childhood in Fairhope, Alabama, had a big impact on him and his beliefs.

“Every single person in this town that I’ve come into contact with has helped me with my faith. I can bring that here. That’s obviously the most important thing in my life,” Leonard said this February, according to The Irish Tribune. “When I go to bed at night, I don’t think, ‘How many touchdown passes did I throw?’ ‘Did we win or lose?’ I think, ‘Did I improve my relationship with Jesus Christ? Did I treat my girlfriend with respect? Did I call my parents?'”

Throughout his time at Duke and now in his only game at Notre Dame, Leonard has worn a bracelet with one of his favorite Bible verses, Matthew 23:12, which says, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” In an interview with ESPN on Saturday after the game, he said: Leonard showed his bracelet for the watching audience.

He sometimes posts about his faith on Instagram and in his bio he writes: “No God – no peace. Know God – know peace.”

In his press conference following Notre Dame’s win over Texas A&M, Leonard announced that a large number of players participate in a community Bible study each week.

“One of the biggest things this team can boast about is that sometimes every Thursday we have 40 people come to our Bible study. That’s really a credit to them. It started with about five people, but it’s grown to 40,” Leonard said. “This team is just so tight. And everything we do, we do as a unit.”

He ended his press conference with another reference to God.

“God bless you,” he said as he stood to leave.

Leonard knows it was God who led him to South Bend to take on the job of Notre Dame’s starting quarterback. God sent him there for a reason, and that ultimate purpose is to make Jesus’ name known on his team and beyond through the game of football.

This week, Notre Dame looks to take a step closer to its perfect season when it faces Northern Illinois (1-0) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET in South Bend, Indiana.

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