Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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16 DECEMBER 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TODD D. BURLAGE A lot has changed since Sept. 14. That's when, three games into this 2024 football season, Irish senior quarterback Riley Leon- ard still hadn't thrown a touchdown pass. He also had 2 interceptions, and was ranked darn near dead last in the country in passer efficiency rating. First-year Notre Dame offensive co- ordinator Mike Denbrock vowed that improvement was coming, and he at- tributed Leonard's slow start to growing pains and a lack of familiarity. In time, Denbrock's words proved prophetic. With every game, Leonard became better at scanning the field with eyes up, working deeper through his read pro- gressions, becoming more confident in his pass catchers and, most importantly, spreading his throws around instead of locking onto one receiver the way he did through early September. "It has evolved as the season has gone along to where [Leonard] has gotten a better feel for where all the pieces are," Denbrock explained. "I believe he has a lot of confidence in all the guys that are out there doing the job that, 'If I give them a chance, they'll make a play.' And guys have been doing that." Even as the 2024 regular season was winding down, Leonard said his con- fidence and understanding were still trending up. "I've only been here in this offense since August," Leonard said. "Now, ev- ery single week, I'm getting so many more reps with every single receiver. I feel like every single week, I'm just building, and building, and building in my trust and confidence in these guys." And while the steady improvement in the passing game has been impres- sive, the individual receiving statistics haven't necessarily followed along. In fact, Notre Dame finished the regular season ranked No. 101 nationally in pass- ing offense (196.4 yards per game) and No. 10 in rushing offense (224.8). Those numbers put the Irish on pace to finish 2024 with more rushing yards than passing yards for only the second time in the program's last 23 seasons. The only statistical exception came in 2017, when Irish tailback Josh Ad- ams rushed for 1,430 yards, and aerially challenged quarterback Brandon Wim- bush added 803 yards on the ground, and set a single-season record for an Irish signal-caller that year with 14 rushing touchdowns. Sound familiar? But even with his pedestrian pass- ing numbers, Leonard — who matched Wimbush's record with 14 rushing touch- downs of his own during the regular sea- Led by Leonard, Irish quar- terbacks connected with at least nine different receivers in the same con- test eight times over the course of the Notre Dame's 12-game regular season. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER SHARING THE WEALTH Irish quarterback Riley Leonard is keeping all of his receivers involved