Riley Leonard came to Notre Dame as a quarterback with NFL projections. Three months after his final game with the Irish, Leonard became an NFL Draft pick.
The Indianapolis Colts selected Leonard in the sixth round with the No. 189 overall pick in the 2025 draft. Leonard became the first Notre Dame quarterback drafted since Ian Book was a fourth-round pick in the 2021 draft.
Leonard had a hunch the Colts could be one of the teams interested in him. Head coach Shane Steichen attended Notre Dame's Pro Day and gave Leonard a positive review of his throwing performance. Leonard told reporters Saturday that his watch party got quiet every time the Colts were up next to pick.
“Throughout this whole process, there’s no place that I would rather be than back in Indiana," Leonard said. "Even when I was at the combine in Indianapolis, it kinda just felt like home."
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Leonard played just one season at Notre Dame after transferring from Duke. Book, who won the most games (30) as a starting quarterback in Notre Dame history, spent five seasons with the Irish. The Irish have leaned mostly on transfer quarterbacks since Book’s departure — Jack Coan in 2021 and Sam Hartman in 2023 — but Leonard became the first quarterback of the transfer portal era (since 2018) to transfer into Notre Dame and land in the NFL Draft.
Leonard came to Notre Dame as an established quarterback with NFL potential at Duke, but injuries derailed his junior season. He completed 382 of his 619 passes (61.7%) at Duke for 4,450 yards and 24 touchdowns with 10 interceptions in 27 games with 21 starts. Leonard also rushed 229 times for 1,224 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Leonard’s integration into Notre Dame’s offense was slowed by two ankle surgeries in January and March, which impacted his availability in the spring and summer. He still managed to help lead Notre Dame to a 16-game run into the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, which ended with a 34-23 loss to Ohio State.
Leonard set the Notre Dame program record for quarterback rushing touchdowns in a season with 17. He surpassed the previous record of 14 set by Brandon Wimbush in 2017. DeShone Kizer, who was a second-round pick in the 2017 draft, rushed for 10 touchdowns in 2015. Book rushed for nine in 2020, which is ranked fourth in a tie with Rick Mirer (1991) and Tony Rice (1988).
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Leonard was Notre Dame’s second-leading rusher last season with 184 carries for 906 yards. He logged 21 more rushing attempts than running back Jeremiyah Love, who led the Irish with 1,225 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns as well.
In order to sustain an NFL career, Leonard will likely need to become a sharper passer. He completed 269 of his 403 passes (66.7%) for 2,861 yards and 21 touchdowns with eight interceptions last season with the Irish. That earned him a passing efficiency rating of 139.6, which ranked No. 51 among FBS quarterbacks last season.
The Colts signed former Duke quarterback Daniel Jones to a one-year deal. Jones actually trains with the same private quarterbacks coach, David Morris, so Leonard and Jones had dinner together recently. Leonard has also worked with former Colts quarterback Philip Rivers and even threw with him a few days ago. Rivers played his final NFL season with the Colts in 2020.
"Probably the biggest thing that I learned is just how intentional he about every little thing," Leonard said of Rivers. "If we’re doing the warmup and we’re taking five-step drops, those five-step drops have to be pristine in order for them to be good enough for him.”
Leonard did his video press conference, which briefly went blank when Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman tried to call Leonard, wearing Colts gear he received when visiting with the team. The only team Leonard had gear ready for was the Baltimore Ravens.
Leonard became the first Notre Dame player drafted by the Colts since they took offensive guard Quenton Nelson with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2018 draft. Nelson is entering his eighth season in Indianapolis, which has included three First-Team All-Pro selections and seven Pro Bowl invites. The Colts roster also includes former Notre Dame kicker Spencer Shrader, who spent time with the Colts, New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs last season before signing with Indianapolis again earlier this year.
Leonard signed with Duke as a three-star recruit out of Fairhope (Ala.) High. Rivals ranked him as the No. 15 dual-threat quarterback in the 2021 recruiting class. Leonard ended up being the ninth quarterback selected in the 2025 draft class. Syracuse's Kyle McCord and Ohio State's Will Howard were picked slightly ahead of Leonard in the sixth round.
Five former Notre Dame players were drafted prior to Leonard in this year's draft: cornerback Benjamin Morrison (second round), safety Xavier Watts (third), linebacker Jack Kiser (fourth), defensive tackle Rylie Mills (fifth) and tight end Mitchell Evans (fifth).
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