INDIANAPOLIS — Riley Leonard understands the purpose of the NFL Scouting Combine runs counter to the Bible verse he wears on his wrist.
Leonard, the former Duke and Notre Dame starting quarterback, is in Indianapolis this week to sell himself as a valuable asset for NFL teams in this year’s draft. He can do so with his throwing workout Saturday in Lucas Oil Stadium, but he also has to do so in the way he talks about himself.
“Obviously, the verse that I wear on my wrist kinda helps me out a lot,” Leonard said Friday. “Matthew 23:12. ‘Those who exalt themselves will be humbled. Those who humble themselves will be exalted.’
“At the combine, you’re having to exalt yourself a little bit, so at night I have to just remind myself, ‘Humble yourself, kid.’ That’s probably the biggest learning experience for me, and I’m not sure if I have it quite yet. But I’m looking to grow.”
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The 6-foot-4, 216-pound Leonard is also looking to throw. Leonard will become just the third and last former Notre Dame player of the eight invited to participate in a workout at this year’s combine. Like Jack Kiser, who went through linebacker drills Thursday, Leonard won’t do any of the athletic testing at the event. Tight end Mitchell Evans did tight end drills in addition to going through some testing Friday.
Both Leonard and Kiser played in the Senior Bowl on Feb. 1 in Mobile, Ala., just 12 days after the Irish ended their season with a 34-23 loss to Ohio State in the CFP National Championship Game. Though that helped them get more exposure to NFL personnel, it made it harder to find time to prepare for the 40-yard dash, broad jump and more.
“After playing in the Senior Bowl, I only had a couple of weeks for my body to recover,” Leonard said. “I had three weeks to train. I got a lot of things that I wanted to work on in my game: obviously, my strength and then mechanically. In just three weeks, you’re taking two of those to recover from the long season. If I’m going to go out there and showcase my abilities, I want to be at my peak.”
Leonard’s athletic abilities are pretty clear on film. His 184 carries for 906 yards and 17 touchdowns last season weren’t just a product of good blocking and play design by the Irish.
Leonard’s throwing abilities are more uncertain. Notre Dame didn’t need him to win the game with his arm very often, so that’s reflected in his stats. He finished 269-of-403 passing (66.7%) for 2,861 yards and 21 touchdowns with eight interceptions in 16 games.
A closer look at his passing production highlights the questions that are apparent on film. Of the 57 FBS quarterbacks who Pro Football Focus charted at least 400 dropbacks last season, only one has a shorter average depth of target than Leonard’s (7.5 yards): Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel at 7.0 yards.
Leonard didn’t take a lot of shots downfield. His 43 attempts of passes at least 20 yards downfield on 476 dropbacks is only higher than two quarterbacks with 400 dropbacks last season: Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby (37 attempts on 435 dropbacks) and UCLA’s Ethan Garbers (33 on 436).
“One thing I wish I could have showcased more is probably the deep ball, extending the ball down the field,” Leonard said. ‘There were a lot of games this year where my job’s to win the football game. There were games where we didn’t have to do that. That was perfectly fine with me. I’m not an ego guy. I’m not worried about stats or anything like that. My job is to win the football game whatever that may be. Hopefully, I’ll be able to showcase the deep ball a little more.”
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Leonard was pretty good at connecting on his deep balls of 20-plus yards. He completed 46.5% of his attempts at the depth, which ranked eighth in the FBS among quarterbacks with at least 40 attempts. Leonard’s 20 deep completions yielded 658 yards and seven touchdowns. He also threw four interceptions at that depth.
Still, Leonard’s average depth of target on throws of at least 20 yards came in at 28.9 yards, which ranked in a tie for 64th among the 91 FBS quarterbacks with at least 40 deep attempts.
“A lot of people think my arm might be a little bit weaker, but all that matters is that I think I got a strong arm,” Leonard said. “I’m ready to prove a lot of people wrong.”
Leonard wants NFL teams to take notice of how well he did in up-tempo situations for Notre Dame. He believes playing fast with his feet and making quick decisions should translate well at the next level.
“If you pull up my tape, my two-minute tape is really good, because it gets me playing fast,” Leonard said. “It gets the ball out of my hands and playing fast with my feet. Another example is any time we’re down and we need to have a fast drive, getting the ball out of my hands, playing on time really helps me out a lot.
“Playing in an NFL offense complements that, because you’re playing some under center and you’re taking these longer, quicker drops. That’s part of my game that I’m looking to showcase.”
Leonard’s NFL Draft projection will likely be significantly varied ahead of the April 24-26 draft in Green Bay, Wisc. In February, Pro Football Focus projected Leonard as the No. 6 quarterback and No. 108 overall in the 2025 draft class. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. said Leonard just missed his top 10 quarterbacks list.
The confidence that Leonard will carry throughout the process will mirror what he learned from Notre Dame’s playoff run.
“Whether you think you can or you can’t do something, you’re right. I actually took that from Henry Ford back in the day,” Leonard said in attributing a line to the founder of the Ford Motor Company. “But when you believe that you can do something, you’re the only person that can stop yourself from doing it.
“We believed that we could make it to the national championship, and that’s exactly what we did. Having a strong mind and believing in yourself is probably the most powerful thing you can do in this world. Besides turning your life to Christ.”
Leonard fielded some questions Friday about which teams have talked to him so far. When one reporter mentioned that new Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll likes to run the ball and Leonard likes to run the ball, Leonard politely steered the conversation back to what he wants to highlight about himself this week.
“Well, I don’t mind throwing it either,” Leonard said. “I think that’s one thing I want to prove to everybody.”
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