In a shallow QB transfer market, Notre Dame securing Duke’s Riley Leonard stands out all that much more

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: OCT 28 Duke at Louisville

The pickings are relatively slim among transfer quarterbacks this winter, yet Notre Dame pulled in one of the top talents in Duke’s Riley Leonard on Tuesday.

Not that any of Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix or Jayden Daniels were ever seen as Heisman finalists when they made their jumps to new schools two years ago, but all three were heralded.

Anyone who can raise Indiana to a 10-2 stretch in his starts across two seasons (Penix) is seen as an underappreciated talent by those paying attention. Anyone starting as a true freshman at a program among the SEC’s top half (Nix) is clearly a talented player, despite a bounty of inconsistent moments. Anyone responsible for 36 total touchdowns in his first two full seasons as a starter (Daniels) undeniably has top-end potential, especially when remembering the dire straits of those Arizona State rosters.

And, of course, that transfer class also starred last year’s Heisman winner and likely No. 1 overall NFL draft pick this coming spring, Caleb Williams.

To apply the same framing to Leonard, in an attempt to be just as subjective, anyone who can lead Duke to a 13-5 record as a healthy starter should be blindly considered a complete quarterback, let alone anyone who can account for 40 touchdowns and just seven interceptions in those 18 games.

Not as much praise can be heaped on most of this transfer class. Aidan Chiles (Oregon State to most likely Michigan State) and Dante Moore (UCLA to …) were both high-profile recruits not entrusted with their offenses this fall. Cameron Ward spent the first two years of his collegiate career at an FCS school, part of that aforementioned 2022 transfer class as he moved to Washington State from Incarnate Word and now looks for a third stop, a worthwhile development story but also a player with a cap on…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/shallow-qb-transfer-market-notre-110000556.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2023-12-13 11:00:00

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