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SOUTH BEND — Riley Leonard has revealed himself to be many things in his first (and only) offseason with his new teammates at Notre Dame football.
Among those descriptions that safely apply to the senior transfer quarterback from Duke University: Naturally curious, insanely talented, relentlessly competitive, deeply religious.
Just as significant, however, at least from an authenticity standpoint, is this: The young man can laugh at himself.
“He’s definitely a goofball,” fourth-year wide receiver Jayden Thomas said. “He’s funny. He likes to talk a lot of crap. He doesn’t cuss.”
Noie: Can QB transfer Riley Leonard push Notre Dame football over the top? ‘Most confident I’ve felt’
Keeping it clean while cleaning the competition’s clock requires another level of concentration, but Leonard has passed test after test while thriving in a variety of ad-hoc displays of skill and will.
“It’s kind of crazy,” Thomas said. “He’s good at every sport I’ve seen him play. We were just kicking the soccer ball over there, and he was able to juggle.”
A partial list: golf, basketball, sportfishing, swimming, cornhole, soccer, running and table tennis.
On that last count, however, the 6-foot-4, 216-pound Leonard might be a tad vulnerable.
“We were playing ping-pong, and I beat him twice,” Thomas said of that best-of-three showdown. “He’s only beat me once. We have a little debate about that.”
The debate rages on.
“It’s kind of cool to be able to have somebody who loves sports and plays sports, but also be able to talk a lot of crap to,” Thomas said. “It’s kind of weird how competitive he is, but also how nice he is as a person.”
‘Just Riley being Riley’
In late May, two months before the Summer Olympics landed in Paris, Leonard hosted and organized what might be considered the Fairhope Games.
An…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/natural-riley-leonard-wins-over-080336160.html
Author : South Bend Tribune
Publish date : 2024-08-20 08:03:36
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