Riley Leonard has played a lot of football in this season already as the QB1 of Notre Dame. Leonard dominated the starting gig at each of the four College Football Playoff games for the Fighting Irish, leading his team to a title game appearance against Ohio State. He bagged some decent numbers under his belt, but they were not as high as they should have been to be considered as a potential first-round pick in the NFL draft. He opted out of the Senior Bowl right after a hectic season and just came fresh off an eventful one at Indianapolis for the NFL Combine this weekend. But even before he showed up for the big test, the veteran QB came clean on his strengths and weaknesses on the center.
Leonard has dazzled the crowd on the NFL combine like this Saturday, performing some eye-candy throws in front of the scouts. Whether or not he was successful in shrugging off the myth that suggests he is only a runner is under debate, though. But he was determined enough to unleash his best moves of his career.
The quarterback also impressed the scouts with his long-range passing skills at Lucas Oil Stadium in Saturday’s NFL Scouting Combine, leaving him to fend off sprinting and other physical assessments until Notre Dame’s pro day in March. He had to hustle for months to get to this point, but he still has some ceiling that he needs to work on to be that elite he is always meant to be. So what are his lowest points in the resume? ”I think when you pull up my tape, yeah my best playing is when I’m playing fast; my feet are fast. If you pull up my two-minute tape and second half’s when we’re down and we need to score that’s when I’m playing at my best,” the Irish prodigy made a candid confession in a pre-combine interview with NBC Sports.
Source: Imago
We have legit seen him struggle when stride gets long, and his feet ain’t in the place. A skittish footwork is a real menace in his resume. However, the standout Irish QB expects the NFL higher-ups to understand his knack and instincts and make him play that way. ”I think NFL offense really compliments my feet and makes me play Fast right especially when you’re under Center so when my feet are in the ground playing fast and I’m on time, I think, I’m very accurate but when I’m lack… in the pocket you know as a longer guy I can get long andriy and inaccurate,” Leonard laid bare his major drawbacks amidst the draft hype.
Leonard has a lot of reasons to catch the eyes of the NFL scouts, even with all his shortcomings. He is a beauty with the deep ball touch, hitting targets in tight windows and in various other aspects. But it seemed Marcus Freeman’s one decision during a gut-wrenching loss against Ohio State in the final added to his woes even more amidst the draft speculation.
Riley Leonard explained a blunder that made his NFL stock suffer late in the season
The opening drive of the night concluded with Leonard running for a touchdown after three consecutive plays. But the execution was a bit too risky for the QB’s health, leading to a questionable execution. The 22-year-old vested a lot of energy during the 18-play drive, including nine designed carries and surpassing Ohio State’s pass rush.
However, during the opening play, he was visibly uncomfortable. He rushed to the bench and appeared to throw up on the sidelines. The first drive cost Notre Dame more than it offered them as they finished the game with just 53 yards rushing despite possessing an elite offensive unit on the ground. Leonard’s early exhaustion actually flipped the script of the game for the worst.
“That drive, you know obviously didn’t feel too great on my body, but I didn’t really feel it too much. I had a lot of time to recover on the sideline after that one, but I was definitely a little hurt out there. It probably looked like I didn’t run the ball as much the rest of the game, but a little bit of that was just due to the circumstances, given that we were down by a lot going into halftime,’‘ the QB phenom said after the game.
If they would win the trophy, undoubtedly, it would certainly add a major boost to Riley’s NFL stock. But never mind, he is still there in the race, hustling, grinding for the best of his ability.
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