Ohio State's Ryan Day puts aside hypotheticals and shows massive respect for Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard's game
When Ohio State battles Notre Dame in the National Championship, they will be going up against a quarterback they were interested in making a Buckeye. After Fighting Irish QB Riley Leonard entered the transfer portal from Duke, the Buckeyes were interested despite the do-not contact tag that Leonard had. Leonard wasted no time pledging to […]
When Ohio State battles Notre Dame in the National Championship, they will be going up against a quarterback they were interested in making a Buckeye.
After Fighting Irish QB Riley Leonard entered the transfer portal from Duke, the Buckeyes were interested despite the do-not contact tag that Leonard had. Leonard wasted no time pledging to Notre Dame and the Buckeyes landed Will Howard shortly after.
It has worked out for both sides, as they are in the National Championship for a reason. Ahead of next Monday’s game, Ohio State HC Ryan Day has shown that he has a lot of respect for who Leonard is on the gridiron.
“I think Riley made his decision pretty quickly,” Day said recently. "But he is somebody that I’ve respected from afar. Just the way that he competes. He’s a great athlete. He’s got a great mindset. Again, watching him play this year and the toughness and leadership that he brings. You can tell that the offense and the entire team feeds off of him. So, a lot of respect for his game.”
Leonard is a dual-threat quarterback who could give the Buckeyes some real problems with his legs. On the season, Leonard has 2,606 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. It is the 866 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground that really show up.
Against Penn State, Leonard threw a pair of interceptions, which is something the Buckeyes will be hunting for. Extra possessions against a stout Notre Dame defense could really help Ohio State against the Fighting Irish.
In just six days, we will see Leonard and the Buckeyes go at it. The Buckeyes will be tasked with slowing a player that the staff had an interest in bringing in a year ago.
