Credit: Sportswire
When Leonard transferred in from Duke last year, his arrival was met with plenty optimism from the Irish faithful. Leonard was an established QB in the ACC and was mocked as a first round draft pick before his injuries derailed his season. This optimism was expunged after the NIU disaster that saw Irish fans begging for Leonard’s benching. In most people’s eyes, Leonard was the root of all that went bad on September 7th. Not the misses of Mitch Jeter, not the inability of Golden’s defense to stop an unspecial and mediocre Qb in Ethan Hampton, but instead the root of the failure was purely from the guy making his first start under Touchdown Jesus in South Bend. While it is true Leonard carried some of the blame, he refused to let the loss define him as a player. Leonard continued on, leading his team to 13 straight wins before being knocked off by a 20 million dollar OSU roster. However, his legacy at Notre Dame will be a positive one. A one that saw him uplift everyone around him. A one that saw him lead a bible study that brought together the whole team and excluded nobody. A one where he got knocked down but refused to stay there. A man, who in everything he did persevered through whatever problems he faced. I speak for all Notre Dame fans when I say Leonard is a true Notre Dame man and represents everything the institution stands for: integrity, respect, conviction, and faith.
Credit: Travis Middleton
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