Riley Leonard
Riley James Leonard (born September 13, 2002) is an American professional football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Duke Blue Devils and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Leonard was selected by the Colts in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft.
Early life
Leonard was born in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina and moved to Fairhope, Alabama when he was in kindergarten.[1][2] Leonard attended Fairhope High School where he played football and basketball.[3] As a senior, he passed for 1,900 yards and 25 touchdowns and had 500 rushing yards. He committed to Duke University to play college football, but also received offers to play college football from Nebraska, Syracuse, and Tulane, among others.[4][5] Leonard also played basketball in high school, receiving offers to play college basketball from programs like Saint Mary's, North Alabama, Samford and Missouri State.[6][7]
College career
Leonard played in seven games and made one start as a true freshman at Duke in 2021. For the season, he completed 37 of 62 passes for 381 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Leonard was named the starting quarterback entering his sophomore season in 2022.[8][9][10] On November 29, 2023, Leonard announced he would be entering the transfer portal.[11] On December 12, 2023, Leonard announced he would be transferring to Notre Dame.[12]
Statistics
| Season | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2021 | Duke | 7 | 1 | 0–1 | 37 | 62 | 59.7 | 381 | 6.1 | 1 | 1 | 113.4 | 47 | 173 | 3.7 | 2 |
| 2022 | Duke | 13 | 13 | 9–4 | 250 | 392 | 63.8 | 2,967 | 7.6 | 20 | 6 | 141.1 | 124 | 699 | 5.6 | 13 |
| 2023 | Duke | 7 | 7 | 4–3 | 95 | 165 | 57.6 | 1,102 | 6.7 | 3 | 3 | 116.0 | 58 | 352 | 6.1 | 4 |
| 2024 | Notre Dame | 16 | 16 | 14–2 | 269 | 403 | 66.7 | 2,861 | 7.1 | 21 | 8 | 139.6 | 184 | 906 | 4.9 | 17 |
| Career | 43 | 37 | 27–10 | 651 | 1,022 | 63.7 | 7,311 | 7.2 | 45 | 18 | 134.8 | 413 | 2,130 | 5.2 | 36 | |
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+3⁄4 in (1.92 m) |
216 lb (98 kg) |
31+5⁄8 in (0.80 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | |||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[13][14] | ||||||||||||
Leonard was selected in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts with the 189th pick.[15] He signed a four-year contract with the Colts on May 9, 2025.[16]
Personal life
Leonard is a Christian.[2]
References
- ^ Miller, Andrew (September 3, 2023). "Duke's Riley Leonard, son of ex-Citadel basketball player, blazes own trail". Post and Courier. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
- ^ a b Sampson, Pete. "Notre Dame's Riley Leonard, the small-town QB with big-time ambitions". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
- ^ Ben Thomas (June 16, 2020). "Duke football commit Riley Leonard is top Coastal Athlete". AL.
- ^ Ben Thomas (May 18, 2020). "Fairhope 2021 QB Riley Leonard commits to ACC school". AL.
- ^ Mink, Nate (September 21, 2023). "After coveted QB recruit chose Duke, SU mined portal and landed its own star". Syracuse Post-Standard. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
- ^ Krest, Shawn (May 23, 2020). "Riley Leonard: If Coach K Wants to Give Me a Shot, Who Knows?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
- ^ Ben Thomas (May 4, 2020). "Fairhope 2-sport star 'leaning' toward football future". AL.
- ^ Adelson, Andrea (August 28, 2022). "Duke names Leonard as starting QB vs. Temple". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ Ben Thomas (August 31, 2022). "No surprise that Fairhope's Riley Leonard is QB1 at Duke". AL.
- ^ Cole McNanna (October 26, 2022). "Air Leonard: Former Fairhope Pirate quarterback leading resurgence of confidence, swagger in Duke football: Blue Devils on verge of bowl eligibility for first time since 2018". Gulf Coast Media.
- ^ VanHaaren, Tom (November 29, 2023). "Duke quarterback Leonard enters transfer portal". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ Thamel, Pete (December 12, 2023). "Duke QB Leonard transferring to Notre Dame". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ "Riley Leonard Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ "Riley Leonard College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ Holder, Stephen (April 26, 2025). "Colts select quarterback Riley Leonard in 6th round of the NFL draft". ESPN. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
- ^ Newell, Nat (May 9, 2025). "Colts sign seven draft picks; see who signed and estimated contracts". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
Further reading
- Sampson, Pete (August 16, 2024). "Notre Dame's Riley Leonard, the small-town QB with championship ambitions". The Athletic. Retrieved August 20, 2024.