With the NCAA college football season already passing the unofficial midway point, many outlets including On3 have been compiling its Heisman Trophy contenders list.
For the first few weeks of the season, Notre Dame quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] didn’t perform up to expectations, but then the light switch turned on. Over the course of the last 6 games, all wins for the Irish, the starter has turned the corner and played at an extremely high level.
While it was surprising to see Leonard on On3’s contender list, as he came in tied at No. 9, it is still an encouraging sign that he is moving in the right direction.
On the season, he’s completing 66.2% of his attempts for 1,360 yards with 8 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He’s been great running the ball as well, as Leonard has carried the ball 85 times for 539 yards with 11 touchdowns.
While the numbers alone aren’t impressive, what stands out are his total stats, as Leonard is currently No. 10 in scoring, No. 8 if you exclude kickers. Many were calling for a change earlier in the season, or at least to see what backup Steve Angeli could do, but clearly the Notre Dame coaching staff knew what they were doing all along.
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