Irish Breakdown

Marcus Freeman Downplays Recent Riley Leonard NFL Comparison

Riley Leonard is a lot of things, but his head coach isn't about to call him an NFL MVP

Nick Shepkowski

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard (13) at Notre Dame spring football practice Thursday, March 7, 2024, at the Irish Athletics Center in South Bend.
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard (13) at Notre Dame spring football practice Thursday, March 7, 2024, at the Irish Athletics Center in South Bend. / GREG SWIERCZ / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman isn't usually one to disagree publicly with his players, but Saturday was an exception.

That came when Freeman was asked about the comparison Notre Dame wide receiver Jayden Thomas recently made of quarterback Riley Leonard.

Thomas was asked earlier this week about who Leonard compares to in the NFL in terms of make-up and his running ability.

"He's special with his legs, I don't want to say Lamar (Jackson) but it's dang near like Lamar just the speed he's got with his feet."

For size?

"I'd say Josh Allen," said Thomas, "It's going to take more than one defender to bring him down if its a designed quarterback run or quarterback sneak so a lot of quarterback touchdowns in the red zone is what I see in the future."

Marcus Freeman Reacts

Marcus Freeman didn't probably hear about the Thomas comparison, and he didn't hear word for word what Thomas actually said, but he certainly had a reaction upon being told about it.

When asked about Thomas' comparison on Saturday, Freeman couldn't help but immediately laugh.

"Oh man," Freeman said, then laughed, "I'm no quarterback guru, JT's (Jayden Thomas) opinions are JT's opinions but he's (Leonard) a physical, good looking dude."

"I don't know how big Josh Allen is," Freeman said before again giggling a bit, "I don't think he's Lamar Jackson, you know, the NFL MVP"

Freeman doesn't care that Leonard isn't that, however.

"He's exactly what we need".

Freeman's Praise of Riley Leonard in Fall Camp

Freeman was non-committal on a few questions he was asked about starting positions on Saturday, but has clearly been impressed by the Notre Dame starting quarterback early on.

Especially as he and offensive coordinator work to build a Notre Dame offense with pieces that largely did not play together last season.

Although Mike Denbrock wasn't as pleased with Saturday's scrimmage, Freeman shared praise of how clean the offense has looked getting lined up and not having presnap issues as camp has gone on. He's also been impressed with his quarterback who he sees growing a more complete game.

"He's (Leonard) has been in the red (zone) and we know he can do some things with his legs," said Freeman, "But we kind of forced him, we said, 'we know you can run the ball, let's continue to watch you progress in the passing game, makings checks, being able to put the offense in great situations'".

"That's what you're most pleased about," said Freeman about Leonard, "he's taking care of the football and that's what we need from our quarterback."

Riley Leonard is Notre Dame's Starting Quarterback

I suppose it's news until it isn't but Freeman was asked if he was willing to name Leonard the starting quarterback on Saturday.

The words "Riley Leonard is our starting quarterback" or something along those lines weren't stated by Freeman but they may as well been.

"He's been with the ones the whole time," said Freeman, "that was the goal"

Without officially saying it, he said everything you need to know about that.

—Enjoy free coverage of the Irish from Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI—


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Nick Shepkowski

NICK SHEPKOWSKI

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