Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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28 MARCH 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER HORKA AND JACK SOBLE W hen Riley Leonard trans- ferred to Notre Dame and Xavier Watts returned for one more year, they did so for — among other reasons — the chance to play for a national championship. Mission accomplished. "We've been through ups and downs," Leonard said after the Irish fell to Ohio State. "I've been through ups and downs. I don't even recognize the per- son I was before I got to Notre Dame." Leonard was a part of those ups and downs. Notre Dame's Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois fell largely on his shoulders. But so, too, did the 13-game win streak that followed and the pro- gram's first two major bowl wins since Jan. 1, 1994. Leonard and Watts share Blue & Gold Illustrated's 2024 MVP honors. Here are the full 2024 BGI Awards. MVP T1. Quarterback Riley Leonard Notre Dame ran 1,013 offensive plays in its 16 games this season. Leonard at- tempted a pass or recorded a rushing attempt on 587 of them. That's a 57.9 percent usage rate. His 2,861 passing yards, good for just 178.8 per game, isn't turning any heads. His 21 touchdown passes and 8 intercep- tions aren't moving the needle either. But when you take into account 184 rushes for 906 yards and 17 touchdowns, you're adjusting the entirety of what he's done to 235.4 total yards and 2.4 total touchdowns per game. You can still count on two hands how many times he's turned the ball over all season, too. Bottom line, Leonard turned out to be a national championship game quarter- 2024 BGI BGI AWARDS AWARDS Riley Leonard and Xavier Watts spearheaded the Irish's push to the national championship game Watts was Notre Dame's top-graded defender at 89.7, and he finished the sea- son with 82 tackles and 6 interceptions. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER