Indiana Defense Promises To Make Notre Dame Quarterback Riley Leonard ‘Pay A Toll’

Quarterback Riley Leonard is an important part of Notre Dame’s running attack. Indiana intends to be physical in an effort to stop him.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) moves the ball against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – One thing Indiana largely avoided during its 11-1 season has been quarterbacks who ran by design. Indiana faced mainly quarterbacks – Nebraska’s Dylan Railola, Washington’s Will Rogers and Purdue’s Hudson Card jump immediately to mind – who prefer to ply their trade in the pocket.

Of Indiana’s 11 FBS opponents, only two starting quarterbacks the Hoosiers faced – Northwestern’s Jack Lausch and Michigan State’s Aidan Chiles - averaged more than two yards per carry.

Both Lausch and Chiles did the bulk of their running while scrambling out of passing situations. Indiana did not face a quarterback who ran from scrimmage as the main part of his repertoire apart from the brief glimpses of Michigan’s Alex Orji in its Nov. 9 win over the Wolverines.

That will change in a big way at 8 p.m. ET on Friday when Indiana faces Notre Dame in a College Football Playoff game. Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard is an integral part of a Fighting Irish rushing attack that ranks 10th nationally in rushing at 224.8 yards per game.

Leonard rushed for 721 yards and 14 touchdowns – second behind running back Jeremiyah Love in both categories, but not by much. Leonard was only 228 yards and one touchdown run behind Love, Leonard is 70 rushing yards ahead of Jardarian Price, Notre Dame’s second-best running back in rushing yards.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) runs for a touchdown in the first quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at Notre Dame Stadium. / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Leonard can hurt an opponent with his legs in multiple ways. Notre Dame will run a lot of quarterback draw plays. Sometimes Leonard follows a lead back, sometimes he runs out of a play designed as a counter. Sometimes he picks a gap and runs where he can.

That’s from draws. Leonard is also adept at picking his own number in RPO plays as well.

Leonard will drop back to pass – he averaged 24 attempts per game – but he’s a threat to run out of designed roll-outs or via a scramble. He has deceptive speed and can get around the edge rushers with relative ease. The 6-foot-4 Duke transfer can also absorb contact downfield and keep moving. He has 1,945 career rushing yards to show for it.

Leonard has had six games where he averaged at least five yards per carry. He peaked with 143 rushing yards in a win against Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 21. Leonard also rushed for 100 yards against Purdue on Sept. 14.

“When you play Notre Dame offensively, it starts with the run game, and the quarterback is a big part of the run game, not only on the designed quarterback runs but when he drops back and he's in the pocket and escapes the pocket and his ability to create plays with his arm and his legs,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said.

Michigan State's Aidan Chiles, right, is tackled by Indiana's Shawn Asbury II during the first quarter on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Indiana, of course, has the top run defense in FBS as the Hoosiers give up just 70.8 yards per game. Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines acknowledged Indiana won’t be able to fully stop Leonard from gaining yards on the ground.

“Nothing can fully help plus one run game like a quarterback that's simply going to run the ball with a lead blocking running back. There's only so many things you can do to account for that. You got to use all 11. They use all 11 of theirs. We've got to use all 11 of ours,” Haines said.

With Notre Dame also having Love and Price being viable running options, Indiana can’t completely sell out its defense to stop Leonard.

“You can't stop the run if they're going to run the quarterback. I mean, you'd have to over commit so aggressively to stopping the run that you would put other parts of the defense in peril,” Haines said.

What he did promise might be a bit ominous for the Notre Dame quarterback when he drops back to pass.

“It's not necessarily about stopping the run. It's making the quarterback pay a toll every time he decides he doesn't want to run it. If that's 20 times, then that's 20 hits for the good guys,” Haines said.

Indiana knocked Chiles out of the game in the Hoosiers’ 47-10 win at Michigan State on Nov. 2. Chiles was hit by Mikail Kamara on a pass play in the third quarter of that contest and did not return. The Hoosiers want to be physical with the opposing quarterback whether they’re pass or run-first.

Leonard himself is ready for whatever the Hoosiers want to bring to the table.

“Their big thing is having an extra hat in the box. Well, we can block that extra hat if we have the running back block them,” Leonard said Sunday. “I’m excited for it. Anybody who has a really good running defense, we’ve stepped up to the plate and took that as a challenge, so we’ll see where that ends up.”

Haines and the Hoosiers feel the same way.

“I like our front seven. I think we're aggressive at all levels. We have different things we can do, whether it's blitzing, or mixing the looks up. He can run some, and he probably will, and he'll get a couple yards, but he'll also get a couple hits from the Hoosiers,” Haines said.

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• HOW DOES INDIANA STACK UP? How the Hoosiers stack up statistically against the rest of the College Football Playoff field. CLICK HERE.

• WHAT CIGNETTI SAID: What Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti said during his pre-Notre Dame press conference on Monday. CLICK HERE.

• FREEMAN HAS PRAISE FOR INDIANA: Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman was complimentary of what Indiana has accomplished this season. CLICK HERE.