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SOUTH BEND — Five games into his Notre Dame football experience, senior quarterback Riley Leonard has no complaints about his offensive line.
Even after losing three starters, two of them for the season, the big bellies up front for the Irish have reached the first bye week with their quarterback and their reputation intact.
“Everybody thinks it’s me who’s avoiding sacks and throwing the ball away and getting the ball out,” Leonard said after moving to 4-1 with last Saturday’s win over Louisville. “But I had a lot of time today. All credit due to my offensive line.”
Just three quarterbacks at the FBS level have more rushing yards (374) than Leonard through the season’s first month; two of those are from service academies: Bryson Daily (Army) and Blake Horvath (Navy) along with John Mateer (Washington State).
And while Leonard is still building up his resolve when it comes to standing in the pocket, the trend line is clearly pointing upward.
“I have some young guys in there, I have some old guys in there,” he said of his line. “They jell really well together, and I trust them with anything. They do an outstanding job.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Notre Dame has allowed 37 total pressures this season, or roughly seven per game. But against Louisville’s ferocious front seven, Leonard was sacked just once, and that came in the final three minutes-plus of a 31-24 win.
“I think Louisville had more of a contain mindset for me,” Leonard said, “so I wasn’t able to escape the pocket maybe like I’m used to, but that’s fine. No problem with me. They do a good job up front.”
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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/measuring-progress-notre-dame-football-080352495.html
Author : South Bend Tribune
Publish date : 2024-10-04 08:03:52
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