Riley bleeping Leonard. This is why we went to the portal! To grab an elite quarterback who could get us over the hump and beat a big dog in a playoff game. We’ve seen the limits of an Ian Book, we’ve seen lesser talented teams like Clemson win with elite quarterback play.
Leonard was recovering from surgery in the spring and started off slow. While he hasn’t been great throwing downfield, he has been more than serviceable since the NIU game. He has been elite at evading sacks, elite at running the football and elite at protecting the football. He’s also thrown some beautiful post routes in the latter half of the season.
When has Georgia been vulnerable? When they face a dual threat. We know they respect Riley’s legs, but do they respect his arm? I say they don’t and I think the Georgia defence could be had for 250-300+ passing yards today. We will see man coverage. Who is going to win their battles? Faison? Evans? Raridon? Mitchell? Harrison? Greathouse? Maybe Georgia native Jayden Thomas?
I believe this to be the simple key to the game. Leonard is the most dynamic quarterback left in the field and if he can continue to develop passing and stretch the defence consistently, it will only open up more room for our running backs. This team can win a title, dependent upon Leonard throwing the ball accurately down the field. This is the first time we will be forced to throw to win since NIU and we just gotta hope Leonard delivers.
If Leonard proves he can be that guy, I legitimately think he can out duel any of the remaining QBs. Go Irish!
