Week 1 of the 2023 college football season officially reached its end on Monday night. With the NFL not starting until next weekend, the NCAA spaced out games throughout Labor Day weekend. The last game of the week took place on Monday night, as the Duke Blue Devils hosted the No. 9 Clemson Tigers. Surely, this would be a relatively easy night for the Tigers, as they look to reassert themselves as contenders for the national championship.
Well, Duke quarterback Riley Leonard had other ideas.
In the third quarter, with the Blue Devils on the 44-yard line, Leonard ran on a designed play for him. At first glance, it looked as though he was going to be stopped by multiple Clemson defenders clogging the middle of the field. Instead, Riley ran past the crowd, sprinted on a tight rope along the sideline, and reached the end zone for the touchdown. With that, Duke took a 13-7 lead.
Duke's Riley Leonard runs through Clemson's defense for touchdown in Week 1
This is quite the way for Leonard to introduce himself to a national audience. While being in a quarterback class led by USC's Caleb Williams, North Carolina's Drake Maye, Washington's Michael Penix Jr., and Oregon's Bo Nix, Leonard was considered by many NFL draft analysts as one of the top prospects at his position. He showed just why with that run.
During the ESPN broadcast, it was mentioned that Leonard sought out former Duke quarterback and current signal caller for the New York Giants Daniel Jones for how to deal with the extra attention on him entering the season. Jones was one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2019 class and was selected sixth overall by the Giants that year. It seems as though Jones gave Leonard some advice on how to make plays on the run, considering his propensity to make some big gains with his legs at Duke and on the Giants.
Last season, Leonard threw for 2,967 yards, 20 touchdowns, and six interceptions on a 63.8 completion percentage. Additionally, Leonard ran for 699 yards and 13 touchdowns on 124 carries.
For those who are following the 2024 quarterback class, be sure to watch some Duke games, because you could see what Leonard could potentially bring at the NFL level.
