Coach Marcus Freeman is starting his third season at Notre Dame in a familiar situation, with a new starting quarterback and a new offensive coordinator.
The changes in college football, including the expanded 12-team playoff field and having a veteran quarterback, could put the seventh-ranked Fighting Irish back in the running for a national championship. They will quickly find out where they stand.
Riley Leonard, a transfer from Duke, is set to make his Notre Dame debut on August 31 at No. 20 Texas A&M.
“The best thing is he’s taking care of the football,” Freeman said about his third different opening-day starter. “We know he can do some things with his legs, but we’ve kind of forced him (to focus on the passing game).
We’ve said, ’Hey, we know you can run the ball. Let’s continue to watch you progress in the passing game, making checks, being able to put the offense in great situations.’”
Notre Dame had a similar plan last season when former Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman led the team to a 10-3 record and a final ranking of No. 14 while averaging 39.1 points per game.
Hartman signed with the NFL’s Washington Commanders when his eligibility ended, and last year’s offensive coordinator, Gerad Parker, is now the head coach at Troy.
Even so, Freeman isn’t starting from scratch. He brought in Leonard, who aims to have a similar impact as Hartman, and hired Mike Denbrock from LSU, where he managed the top offense in the Bowl Subdivision and played a key role in Jayden Daniels’ Heisman Trophy-winning season.
Leonard’s strong performance initially helped the Blue Devils reach the top 20, but an injured right ankle, suffered in a loss to Notre Dame and requiring two offseason surgeries, affected the rest of his season.
As a result, Leonard threw for just 1,102 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions while rushing for 352 yards and four scores in 2023, compared to 2,967 yards passing, 699 yards rushing, and 33 total touchdowns in 2022.
