When quarterback Riley Leonard transferred from Duke to Notre Dame for the 2024 season, he immediately went to work building chemistry with his new teammates.
He brought six Fighting Irish receivers to his home in Fairhope, Ala., to get to know each other and train with former NFL great Philip Rivers before hitting the field for the season opener.
Jayden Thomas was one of the receivers on the trip, and talked about Leonard taking the receivers sport-fishing.
“I didn’t catch anything,” Thomas lamented.
It’s a different story now that Thomas is on turf instead of water. Thomas caught a 5-yard TD strike from Leonard in Notre Dame’s 27-17 victory over Indiana in the opening round of the College Football Playoffs.
That victory earned the seventh-seeded Fighting Irish (12-1) a match against second-seeded Georgia (11-2) in the CPF quarterfinal round on Wednesday in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
Notre Dame has been lighting up the scoreboard this season (38.8 points a game, fourth in the nation) largely due to a running game that boasts the punishing explosiveness of running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jardarian Price, mixed in with the elusive running of Leonard.
While the Fighting Irish rushing offense is ranked 11th in the nation (222.4 yards a game), the passing offense is ranked 100th (196.8).
Stepping up the passing game will be a key component of Notre Dame’s plan for Georgia, and the Fighting Irish have been headed in that direction thanks to Leonard’s chemistry-building activities.
Leonard didn’t find his footing right away with the receivers. He threw 115 passes before he connected for a touchdown — in the second quarter against Miami of Ohio in Notre Dame’s fourth game of the season.
In the first four games, Leonard was 73-117-2 (63.1 passing percentage) for 587 yards. Notre Dame scored 131 points in those four games, which were against No. 20 Texas A&M, the 16-14 upset loss to Northern Illinois, Purdue and Miami of Ohio. Sixty-six of the points came against a one-win Purdue team.
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