Riley Leonard, the former Notre Dame quarterback known for his resilience, shares his journey to the National Championship. He candidly discusses his experiences with injury recovery, the mental challenges of high-stakes games, and unconventional game-day preparations rooted in humility. Riley reflects on the critical role of sleep and health monitoring in athlete performance, illustrating how a focus on recovery and relationships helped him thrive under pressure. He also shares insight into building the perfect NFL quarterback and his future aspirations.
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Pre-Game Text
Riley Leonard's mom texts him "suck" before every game, a tradition since high school.
This started because he felt he needed to stay grounded and avoid complacency.
insights INSIGHT
Transfer to Notre Dame
Riley Leonard transferred to Notre Dame seeking a fresh start after injuries at Duke.
His primary goal was to put himself in the best position to win a national championship.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Three Surgeries
Riley Leonard had three surgeries in one off-season: ankle, toe (turf toe), and another ankle surgery.
He had to re-learn how to walk and used tools like the anti-gravity treadmill for rehab.
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What does the road to a college football National Championship look like? On this week’s episode of the WHOOP Podcast, WHOOP Founder and CEO Will Ahmed sits down with former Notre Dame Quarterback Riley Leonard. Riley began his college career playing 7 games for Duke as a true freshman in 2021 and was named starting QB in his sophomore season in 2022. In 2023, Riley entered the transfer portal, ultimately transferring to Notre Dame. While Riley almost entered the 2024 NFL Draft, an injury pushed him toward the decision to play at Notre Dame for another season, where he led the Fighting Irish to the National Championship game against Ohio State. Riley will be entering the 2025 NFL Draft in April.
In this episode, Will and Riley discuss how Notre Dame approached the 2024/25 season (00:37), Riley’s unconventional preparation for every game (02:16), Riley’s journey through the transfer portal (03:58), injury, rehab, and recovery (04:32), and how Riley uses his beliefs to grow as an athlete (08:55). Riley breaks down Notre Dame’s road to the National Championship (11:16), playoff games against Indiana (16:03), Georgia (17:41) and Penn State (19:22), and the details of the National Championship against Ohio State (21:34). Will walks Riley through his WHOOP Data (23:31) and the importance of sleep consistency as an athlete (28:38). Riley closes out the episode by building the perfect NFL Quarterback (31:16) and giving WHOOP exclusive insight on his next steps in his career (34:01).
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