Scouting Report: 2021 Quarterback Riley Leonard

Duke coach David Cutcliffe likes to give young quarterbacks a taste of college football while they’re still backups. Cutcliffe has made it a practice to make a switch at quarterback in goal-line and short-yardage situations, to give a promising youngster the chance to learn the ropes in a high-leverage situation.

Anthony Boone, Thomas Sirk and Quentin Harris all got the chance to run the goal-line offense. And even though it was a likely running situation, they’ve been known to throw a surprise jump pass for a touchdown.

New Duke quarterback recruit Riley Leonard seems tailor-made for that role.

The 6-foot-4, 190-pound three-star in the class of 2021 out of Fairhope, Alabama is listed by some recruiting services as a pro-style passer, but make no mistake, he’s a dual threat. He has the footspeed and burst to get to the outside on a run-pass option (RPO), and he’s deadly running around the end near the goal line.

Often, the “dual-threat” label means that a quarterback is run-first under center, but Leonard is also a precise passer. He has the arm strength to send the ball 30 yards downfield, but, unlike other high school quarterbacks, his highlight film isn’t filled with rainbow passes to the sideline. Instead, it shows pinpoint throws through windows to get first downs and impressive gains. They’re the type of passes that move the chains and keep drives alive.

While he can stand, read and fire, Leonard is at his best when he’s on the move. Whether he’s rolling out or scrambling away from pressure, he’s a threat to tuck and run or snap off a pass to an open man at the last possible instant.

On one play, he appears to pump fake, only to have the ball end up 20 yards downfield, in the arms of an open receiver. His little Brett Favre flings while under pressure end up traveling 25 yards, thanks to his whip-quick delivery and deceptive arm strength.

Leonard is an intriguing prospect that offers plenty of options, something that coach David Cutcliffe surely relishes as he plans ways to make use of them.

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