If, late on Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, it’s Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard who hoists the College Football Playoff National Championship trophy, having just conquered the vaunted Ohio State Buckeyes to capture the program’s first national championship since 1988, he’ll know the true test — a test with eternal significance — has only just begun.
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“If that were to be the case and we win a national championship, that’s very hard to come back to Jesus,” Leonard admitted to a church congregation in South Bend last August. “That’s something that I’m personally still working on. Win or lose, you finish a game, do you still show up at church on Sunday?
“… We play football for 12, 13, 14 weeks out of the year, three hours on a Saturday. The rest of the time, we’re just normal people. If we were to be blessed with the opportunity to win [a national title], it’d be tough to run back to the Father. I’d be curious to see how I reacted from that. As I grow in my faith, I think I’d realize that there’s a lot more important things in this life than winning.”
Leonard — who was speaking as part of a panel that included teammates Kenny Minchey, Ben Morrison, Jaden Mickey and Isaiah Dunn — recognized that, often, success in earthly endeavors poses just as much of a threat to true growth in Christ as failure does. He knows his Heavenly Father loves him and is good to him in the wins as well as the losses. The wins are simply gifts from Him.
Leonard indicated as much to a watching world in an on-field interview with ESPN following Notre Dame’s 27-24 victory against Penn State in the CFP semifinal at the Orange Bowl.
“I just started trusting the Lord,” he said of his thoughts while struggling offensively in the first half. “I looked up and said, ‘Jesus, whatever Your will is for my life, I trust it 100%.’ And I know that this offense and this team trusts in Jesus and His plan for this season.”
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Leonard is in his first year with the Fighting Irish after three at Duke, and he’s found South Bend to be a place of incredible spiritual growth. He said after Notre Dame’s season-opening win that about 40 players attend the team Bible study. In October, he spoke at a postgame press conference about what he’s learned with his new team.
“Every single teammate that’s held me accountable, not only on the football field, but when it comes to my faith, as well,” Leonard said. “Obviously, Notre Dame is a very spiritual place and I think allowing Jesus to come into my life and change the way that I walk into a football game has really helped me out a lot.
“I think I was hesitant and put a lot of pressure on myself. But me and Coach (Marcus) Freeman were talking about it one time and, you know, everybody goes into games — I certainly did the first couple weeks — thinking, ‘What if? What if I mess up? What if this happens?’ At the end of the day, if I go into a game thinking, ‘Even if? Even if everything falls down and we hit rock bottom, my Lord and Savior is always going to be there for me.’ And nothing’s going to change with that.”
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On the field, Leonard led Notre Dame to an 11-1 regular-season record and, now, three straight wins in the first ever 12-team playoff. In addition to the stabilizing veteran presence he’s brought to the Fighting Irish, he’s also completed a career-high 66.4% of his passes this season for 2,606 yards and 19 touchdowns. Under his leadership, Notre Dame is ranked No. 6 in the country in points scored per game at 37.0.
He will need to be at his best on Monday to take down Ohio State, which ranks No. 1 in the country in points allowed per game (12.2). The Buckeyes have also been notably outspoken all season about the work God is doing within their locker room, and Leonard believes it’s no coincidence that the national championship comes down to these two teams.
“We’re the two main teams to publicly display our faith the most,” he said in a press conference on Wednesday. “… I truly believe that Jesus was looking over both of our shoulders throughout the whole season and put these two teams on a pedestal for a reason.”
Riley Leonard feels Notre Dame & Ohio St are the 2 teams to publicly display their faith the most.
“I don’t know if this is some divine teaching that put us here but I truly believe Jesus was looking over both of our shoulders… and put these 2 teams on a pedestal for a reason.” pic.twitter.com/gxcKMByPb0
— Angelo Di Carlo (@angdicarlo) January 15, 2025
Leonard wears eye black in the shape of a cross under his left eye during games and he sports a wristband with a cross. He’s also been known to wear a wristband citing one of his favorite Bible verses, Matthew 23:12. Meanwhile, he quotes Proverbs 21:21 in a photo on his X profile, and he writes, “No Jesus — No Peace, Know Jesus — Know Peace” in his Instagram bio.
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This is great.
Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard gives thanks to Jesus on ESPN postgame after the Irish advance past Georgia.
“Without Him, I wouldn’t be here.” pic.twitter.com/D2g09mwnA5
— Sports Spectrum (@Sports_Spectrum) January 3, 2025
“My faith has always brought me back to that humble position of, like, ‘You’re nobody.’ And it doesn’t matter if you’re at the highest of highs or lowest of lows, God’s gonna treat you the same,” Leonard said at the panel discussion in August. “… My faith to me just means, like, no matter what happens in this life or anything that I do, I can always run back to the Father and He’s always gonna be there for me.”
Regardless of the outcome on Monday, Leonard can lay his head on the pillow later that night, or early that next morning, and know that God loves him just the same. Monday’s kickoff between Notre Dame and Ohio State is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
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