Ohio State Buckeyes HC Opens Up About Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard

Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes have a chance to win a national championship on Jan. 20th. In order to do so, they will need to win one more game, this time against Riley Leonard and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Throughout the first three games of the College Football Playoff, Ohio State has looked dominant. They have not shown any glaring issues and have played really good football on both sides of the game.

Defensively, they have gotten after the quarterback, forced turnovers, and limited big plays. Offensively, they have moved the football, balanced the pass and run, and taken care of the football for the most part.

Heading into the national championship, containing Notre Dame's Leonard will be a massive key for the Buckeyes.

With that in mind, Day spoke out and opened up with his thoughts about Leonard. He dodged answering whether or not Ohio State had interest in Leonard in the transfer portal, but he is clearly a big fan of the quarterback's game.

“I think Riley made his decision pretty quickly,” Day said. "But he is somebody that I’ve respected from afar. Just the way that he competes. He’s a great athlete. He’s got a great mindset. Again, watching him play this year and the toughness and leadership that he brings. You can tell that the offense and the entire team feeds off of him. So, a lot of respect for his game.”

So far this season, Leonard has completed 66.4 percent of his pass attempts for 2,606 yards, 19 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He has also racked up 866 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground.

Clearly, the Fighting Irish star has been a dual-threat quarterback and opposing defenses have not had an answer against him.

In their upcoming matchup, the Buckeyes will have to make sure to keep Leonard in the pocket. They cannot afford to let him get out running with the football. When he does that, his entire game elevates.

Ohio State should be focusing on making Leonard beat them with his arm and his arm alone.

Leonard is still capable of winning with his arm, but he's not nearly as effective when he isn't doubling up with big rushing numbers. The Buckeyes have to take that aspect of his game away from him.

All of that being said, the grand stage has been set and both Ohio State and Notre Dame are playing for all the marbles. For Day and the Buckeyes, Leonard gives them their biggest quarterback challenge that they've faced in the playoff.