SI All-American Candidate Evaluation: Duke Commit Riley Leonard
Duke has 11 candidates for Sports Illustrated All-American among its 12 commitments in the class of 2021.
We’ll take a closer look at each of those candidates over the next few weeks. First up is someone likely to be David Cutcliffe’s quarterback of the future, Alabama passer Riley Leonard.
Leonard is 6-foot-4, 190 pounds and is also a star basketball player who had offers from Division I schools from that sport. He told Blue Devil Country he might be tempted to walk on to Coach K’s basketball team in his sophomore year.
Here’s what SI All-American had to say about Leonard’s frame: “Tall, lanky build, Ideal frame with a lot of room to put on more weight.”
SI All-American’s evaluation also took his basketball prowess into account when evaluating his athleticism: “Good speed, and even better quickness. He shows this on the football field as a quarterback/wide receiver, and on the basketball court as a 20 ppg scorer. Has talent extending the play outside the pocket along with making people miss in the open field with his vision and agility.”
While David Cutcliffe is undoubtedly thrilled with Leonard’s athleticism, the quarterback’s passing ability may be just as exciting for the passing guru.
SI All-American had this to say about Leonard’s instincts: “Has a good feel for pressure in the pocket, he knows when to maneuver through the rush keeping his eyes downfield and when to take off and run. Made a lot of big plays in the read-option game. Decisive with his throws and decision-making.”
And his polish: “A natural thrower with good touch on his passes, throws the ball with good anticipation especially under fire. Could stand to improve his throwing power, but this will likely come as he puts on weight and strength.”
The bottom line on Leonard, according to the SIAA evaluation: “Leonard is a multi-sport star who has got all the tools to become a great dual-threat quarterback at the next level. With some more time spent in the weight room and polishing his skills he could have the ability to compete at an early age in the Power Five.”
