HONORS & AWARDS

2023 Team captain
2023 Preseason All-ACC — Phil Steele’s College Football Preview (3rd team)
2023 Preseason All-ACC — Athlon Sports (4th team)
2022 Honorable Mention All-ACC selection
2022 Academic All-ACC and CSC Academic All-District honoree
2022 Recipient of the Duke Football Carmen Falcone Team Most Valuable Player and Offensive MVP Awards
2022 Military Bowl MVP

AS A JUNIOR (2023)

Started all seven games in which he played for the Blue Devils, going 95-for-165 and 1,102 yards (57.5 percent completion rate) and three touchdowns
Rushed 58 times for 352 yards (44-yard long) and four touchdowns
Completed 17 passes for 175 yards and a touchown, also rushing for 98 yards and a 44-yard long (both rushing season highs) on eight rushes and a touchdown, in the season-opening 28-7 win vs. Clemson (9/4)
Had a perfect 100 percent completion rate in the 42-7 win over Lafayette, completing all 12 passing attempts and totaling 136 passing yards, and a touchdown, adding four rushes for 13 yards (9/9)
Went 15-20 for 219 yards, rushing 13 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns (season-high for rushing touchdowns), in the 38-14 vs. Northwestern (9/16)
Completed 23 passes for 248 yards (season high) and a touchdown in the 41-7 win at UConn; also posted four rushes for 30 yards and a touchdown (9/23)
Completed 12 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown vs. Notre Dame; also rushed 18 times for 88 yards (9/30)
Passed for 69 yards on 7 completions, rushing once for 13 yards at Florida State (10/21)
Completed nine passes for 121 yards and had 10 rushes for 13 yards, at Louisville (10/28)
Attended the Manning Passing Academy as a counselor in June 2023

AS A SOPHOMORE (2022)

Started all 13 games
completed 250-of-392 (.638) passes for 2,967 yards with 20 TDs and six INTs while leading the team in rushing with 699 yards on 124 carries (5.64) and 13 TDs; Posted pass efficiency rating of 141.11, 3,666 total offensive yards
Scored 78 points and carded point responsibility total of 198
One of three FBS QBs to amass 2,900+ passing yards and 695+ rushing yards, joining LSU’s Jayden Daniels and North Carolina’s Drake Maye
Joined Oregon’s Bo Nix as the only two FBS QBs nationally to register 20+ passing and 13+ rushing TDs, a first in Blue Devil history
Completed 20+ passes in six games including a season-high 29 completions against Wake Forest
Posted completion percentage of .600 or better in nine contests including a season-best .917 mark (11-of-12) against North Carolina A&T
Threw for 200+ yards in seven weeks
Compiled three 300+ yard passing games, including a season-best 391 yards and four TDs against Wake Forest
Passing yardage versus Wake Forest matched the 20th-best single-game total in Duke history
Threw for 2+ TDs in five contests against Temple, North Carolina A&T, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, and Wake Forest
Had eight completions of 40+ yards including a season-long 81-yard pass to WR Eli Pancol against Northwestern that marked the seventh longest pass in program history
Teamed up with WR Jordan Moore for a 49-yard TD reception versus Pittsburgh for Duke’s longest passing score of the season
Opened the year with 15 consecutive completions against Temple to place tied for third in school history for a single game with Ben Bennett and Thaddeus Lewis
Logged four rushing attempts of 20+ yards including a season-long and team-long 74-yard TD effort against North Carolina
The 74-yard TD jaunt marked the 19th longest in program history and the longest by a Duke QB
Had 10+ rushing attempts in six weeks including a season-high 14 carries against North Carolina and Miami
Rushed for 60+ yards in seven weeks versus Temple (64), North Carolina A&T (66), Virginia (60), North Carolina (130), Miami (61), Boston College (96), and UCF (63)
Rushed for a season-high three TDs against Miami … logged a season-high 406 yards of total offense against Wake Forest
Accounted for 3+ TDs in games against North Carolina A&T (2 pass & 2 rush), Virginia (1 pass & 2 rush), Miami (1 pass & 3 rush), Virginia Tech (2 pass & 1 rush), Pittsburgh (3 pass & 1 rush), and Wake Forest (4 pass)
In the ACC, ranked third in total offensive yards per game (282.00), third in pass attempts, third in pass completions, third in total points responsible for, tied for third in scoring, fourth in pass completion percentage, fourth in passing yards per game (228.23), fifth in TD passes, and fifth in passing efficiency
Nationally, ranked 21st in total points responsible for, 22nd in rushing TDs, 27th in total points responsible for per game, 28th in total offensive yards per game, 30th in total TDs, 40th in passing yards, 44th in completion percentage, 46th in passing TDs, 47th in pass completions per game, and 47th in passing efficiency
Set school single-season records for TDs responsible for (33), most games with 1+ TD pass (12), TD-to-INT ratio (3.33-1), and pass completion-to-INT ratio (41.67-1)
On Duke’s single-season charts, yearly totals ranked tied for first in most wins by a starting QB (9), tied for first in most TD passes of 20+ yards (11), tied for first in most games with 100+ passing yards (13), second in most total offensive yards, second in highest passing efficiency rating (141.11), second in rushing TDs by a QB, tied for second in most consecutive games with 1+ TD passes (12), fourth in rushing yards by QB, tied for fourth in most TD passes, sixth in highest pass completion percentage (.638), seventh in passing yards, and tied for eighth in most games with 300+ passing yards
Additionally, ranked tied for fourth in most TD passes for a single-game (4, Wake Forest) and tied for 10th in highest pass completion percentage for a game (.800, Temple)
On Duke’s bowl game charts, Military Bowl totals rank tied for first for rushing TDs (2), second for pass attempts without a INT (28), tied for second for points scored (12), fourth for pass completion percentage in a half (.750 [12-of-16]; 1st) and game (.679 [19-of-28]), tied for fifth for pass completions in a quarter (10; 2nd), tied for fifth for pass attempts in a quarter (13; 2nd), sixth for pass completions (19), sixth for pass completion percentage in a quarter (.769 [10-of-13]; 2nd), seventh for pass efficiency rating (119.76), eighth for passing yards (173), eighth for average yards per pass attempt (6.18), ninth for pass attempts (28), and ninth for average yards per completion (9.10)
Also tied for the 12th longest pass in school bowl history with 32-yard scoring toss to Jaquez Moore
Joined Thomas Sirk (2015) as the only two Duke QBs in program lore to rush for 600+ and throw for 2,500+ yards in a single-season
Joined Jordan Waters (566), Ja. Moore (508), and Jaylen Coleman (480) to form the first quartet in Duke history to post 400+ rushing yards in a single-season
Coupled with Waters (8), Ja. Moore (5), and Coleman (4) to form the first foursome in Blue Devil history to compile 4+ rushing TDs in a single-season … on the field for 873 snaps.

AS A FRESHMAN (2021)

Saw action in seven games, with one start against Virginia Tech
Finished 37-of-62 (.597) passing with one TD and one INT … added 47 rushes for 173 yards (3.68) and two TDs
Completed 13-of-13 (1.000) pass attempts for a career-high 99 yards versus Louisville in 2021
Hit on 10 passes in the third quarter to tie for fifth on the freshmen charts for most pass completions in a quarter
Tallied a season-long 39-yard pass completion to WR Jalon Calhoun against Wake Forest
Connected with RB Mataeo Durant for a five-yard TD reception against Pittsburgh
Accumulated a year-best 70 rushing yards against Louisville, including a season-long 35-yard scamper for a TD
Added a rushing TD against Wake Forest
On the field for 164 snaps.

PREP AND PERSONAL

Lettered four years at Fairhope under coach Tim Carter
Three-star prospect by ESPN.com, Rivals.com and 247Sports.com
Charted as the No. 14 and No. 20 dual threat quarterback in the nation by Rivals.com and 247Sports.com, respectively
Also rated as the No. 18 and No. 27 overall prospect in the state of Alabama by those organizations
As a senior, threw for 1,900 yards and 25 TDs while rushing for an additional 500 yards
Garnered all-state honors following final season
Also tabbed the Class 7A Player of the Year and the AL.com Coastal Player of the Year after leading the Pirates to a 27-2 record
Helped Fairhope to an overall record of 31-12
Also lettered in basketball and track
Named two-time basketball AL.com Edward Jones Coastal Male Athlete of the Year (2020 and 2021)
Participated in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic and was also one of five players named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association Super All-State Basketball Team.
Born September 13, 2002
Majored in public policy while pursuing a certificate in markets and management during undergrad
Son of Chad and Heather Leonard
Father played basketball at The Citadel (1992-95), matched the school’s single-game record for steals (7 vs. Clemson on Dec. 18, 1994), set the school standard for steals in a season (68 in 1995) and finished career with 137 steals marking the second-highest total in program history
Uncle, Michael Sabol, played basketball at Georgetown University (1990-91).

Riley Leonard