Riley Leonard Commits to Notre Dame After Leaving Duke for Transfer Portal

Former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard announced Tuesday that he has committed to transfer to Notre Dame and play for the Fighting Irish next season.

Leonard made it official with the following video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, referring to playing for ND as a "dream come true."

After playing three seasons at Duke, Leonard entered the transfer portal last month and immediately became one of the top quarterbacks available.

Leonard became the Blue Devils' starting quarterback as a sophomore in 2022, and he went on to complete 63.8 percent of his passes for 2,967 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions, while also rushing for 699 yards and 13 scores.

With Leonard at the helm, Duke went 9-4 and beat UCF in the Military Bowl, and Leonard earned game MVP honors.

A toe injury limited Leonard to just seven games this season, and it adversely impacted his effectiveness, as he completed just 57.6 percent of his passing attempts for 1,102 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions, along with rushing for 352 yards and four touchdowns.

This marks the second consecutive year in which the Irish have landed a big-name transfer at quarterback.

Last year, Notre Dame secured Sam Hartman, who starred for five seasons at Wake Forest, setting the career ACC record with 110 touchdown passes.

As a sixth-year senior, Hartman completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 2,689 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions this season, and the Fighting Irish went 9-3.

Since Hartman no longer has any college eligibility remaining, Leonard is in line to be Notre Dame's starter in 2024.

The Irish have won at least nine games in each of the past seven seasons, and with Leonard in the fold, they could be threats to return to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2020.