Duke’s Leonard injured during loss to Notre Dame

David Hale, ESPN Staff WriterOct 1, 2023, 12:20 AM ET
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- ACC reporter.
- Joined ESPN in 2012.
- Graduate of the University of Delaware.

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke lost Saturday’s game against Notre Dame on a 30-yard touchdown run by Audric Estime with 31 seconds to play and might have lost its starting quarterback, Riley Leonard, one play later.

Leonard went down with an apparent leg injury on Duke’s final play after Notre Dame’s Marik Liufau hit him for a sack. Leonard fumbled the ball and a knee bent inward. He lay on the field for several moments, being attended to by medical personal, before being helped off the field.

He left the medical tent after both teams had departed postgame, using crutches back to the tunnel, where teammate Jacob Monk helped him back to the locker room.

“I just let him know I’m always there for him,” Monk said after the 21-14 loss. “I slipped up the last play of the game. I can’t let that happen. So I just let him know I’m here for him always.”

Leonard, who is No. 19 in Mel Kiper Jr.’s top 25 draft prospects for 2024, completed 12 of 27 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown and also ran for 88 yards, captaining Duke to a 14-13 lead with less than a minute to play in the game.

Duke coach Mike Elko said he did not have an official update on Leonard’s condition postgame, and he said the team would evaluate the quarterback’s progress this week. Duke is off in Week 6 before returning to action against NC State on Oct. 14.