‘Sometimes I get a little ignorant and greedy’ – Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard comments on his imperfect performance against Florida State
Notre Dame football fans have had quite the relationship so far with quarterback Riley Leonard this season. After a stellar season opening victory against Texas A&M, the Northern Illinois loss soured quite a bit of fans on the former Duke transfer. With every up, there was cautious optimism. With every down came the most hyperbolic […]
Notre Dame football fans have had quite the relationship so far with quarterback Riley Leonard this season. After a stellar season opening victory against Texas A&M, the Northern Illinois loss soured quite a bit of fans on the former Duke transfer. With every up, there was cautious optimism. With every down came the most hyperbolic of takes.
Quietly over the last few weeks, Leonard has been playing very good football. That continued against Florida State during the team’s 52-3 victory, although an inconsistent performance from Leonard and the passing offense. He finishes the day completing 14 of 27 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown, adding another 70 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
For those who watched the game, you saw Leonard have some great moments. You also saw a couple of misfires and three dropped passes from his wide receivers. There was obvious a lot of good, and a lot to build off of, but it was still an erratic night overall.
After the game, Leonard spoke to the Notre Dame media about his performance. He was happy with the win, but was critical of his individual game. There was a lot more success out there according to the talented signal caller.
“There was so much left out there in the passing game for me specifically,” Leonard said. “Sometimes I get a little ignorant and greedy.”
Hearing things worded that way from Leonard was tremendous to hear for Irish fans, and should leave the game with some nice optimism. After beating a team by 49 points, you would expect there to be nothing but positivity. For Leonard, there is a level of being a perfectionist that needs to be there. He wasn’t satisfied after the victory.
In order for this Irish team to reach their potential, having that level of realism is important. The win was great, and Leonard did some tremendous things. Having 285 total yards and three touchdowns despite not really playing in the fourth quarter is a good day at the office. But there’s another level to hit.
Notre Dame now enters a three-game stretch with the college football playoffs on the line, which includes Virginia, undefeated Army, and USC. The Irish are far more talented than every team on their remaining schedule, so in theory they won’t need the passing game to be tremendous to come out unscathed.
For this team to make a playoff run, however, this is the time to find that next level. Leonard is very talented, and there is a clear offensive identity being created. Seeing how they round into form down the stretch will be a huge precursor for how the season could finish.
