No. 12 Notre Dame moved swiftly on a Navy Fumble, all thanks to quarterback Riley Leonard, who found Kris Mitchell in the end zone and hit a 6-yard touchdown. In a matter of a few moments and three plays with over a minute off the clock, they finished a 7-yard drive.

Well, the 97th official meeting of Notre Dame and Navy at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough resulted in the massive 51-14 victory favored by Notre Dame. After this, their starting quarterback, Riley Leonard, is finally getting his much-needed acknowledgment in the college football world.

Leonard, who played three seasons at Duke, suffered an injury back in September last year in the game against the Blue Devils. And when he joined Notre Dame in January earlier this year, he went for tightrope ankle surgery. at that time, no one was certain when he would be back to play games, but he wore his cleats again in spring practice in the offseason.

On the latest episode of ESPN, college football analyst Greg McElroy discussed all the buzz surrounding Notre Dame, especially about their QB Leonard’s bounce back in the game against Navy, coming out of an injury.

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I think he looked a lot more like the 2022 version of Riley Leonard. And remember, it’s understandable that it’s maybe taken a little time to get to this point. He was banged up all of last season. He missed most of the off-season due to multiple ankle injuries and ankle surgeries. He also had a toe surgery. So I think you’re starting to look like the guy that we got a couple of years ago when he was one of the better quarterbacks in the country that no one really talked about. So his best football is probably coming.”

Riley has been in his original form since the 2024 season started; however, in Notre Dame’s painful loss to northern Illinois, he suffered another injury to his non-throwing shoulder’s posterior labrum. But his performance against the Navy didn’t look like he was still recovering from an injury. He was at his best as he passed for 178 yards, two touchdowns, and an extra touchdown, in just three quarters. Now his name is echoing for the Heisman race as well?

Is Riley Leonard getting talked about as a possible Heisman contender?

The answer is yes! Although the first few weeks have not been up to the mark, Riley Leonard is finally finding a foot in the season. As per On3’s latest report, Leonard has grabbed a spot among the top 10 Heisman candidates with +10,000 odds, and if he continues to improve his games, his ranks can get even higher. It depends if Notre Dame adds more top 25 wins.

Although at first his name in the Heisman conversations may seem weird to some given his record of ups and downs in the past few games, especially Notre Dame’s loss to Northern Illinois, since then, we can see an update in his game. Riley Leonard’s passing game as well as an increased completion percentage are proof of it.

For the last three games he played, Riley averaged over 175 passing yards and 1.67 passing touchdowns each game. On top of that, he had 55 yards and 1.25 rushing touchdowns on the ground per game. These are the things that make him stand out and the college football world is noticing this change. What are your thoughts on it? can Riley Leonard steal away the Heisman Trophy from star CFB players like Travis Hunter and Cam Ward?