10 best transfer portal additions that will shape the 2024 college football season
By John Buhler
7. Former Duke QB Riley Leonard to Notre Dame
Even though offensive coordinator Gerad Parker left to go be the next head coach at Troy, Riley Leonard to Notre Dame is a total game-changer. I like this better than even Sam Hartman last year. He was trying to prove that he was more than a product of the slow mesh at Wake Forest. While that sort of worked, he is probably a day-three pick.
Because Leonard spent most of last season on the sidelines due to injury, it is hard to make what the former Duke star can be at the next level. Like Daniel Jones, Sean Renfree and Thad Lewis before him, he is an NFL player. However, so much is riding on Leonard to take his game up a level now that he is at Notre Dame playing for Marcus Freeman. Look for him to sink or swim under Mike Denbrock.
Right now, I would have Notre Dame as a top-six or eight team in the country. The Fighting Irish should be a playoff team, especially with their fairly navigable schedule for 2024. If Leonard has his health and can play like he did at times for Duke, this is a team that could win multiple playoff teams, possibly even making it to the national semifinals as a non-conference champion. That'd be sweet!
Leonard is not just a candidate to have an impact at Notre Dame in 2024, but possibly in 2025, too.