Watch: Basketball was a Real Option for Riley Leonard

Originally posted on Mike Farrell Sports | By Dan Zealley | Last updated Jan 20, 2025 4:07 PM ET

By Dan Zeally

Just as we saw Riley Leonard flying over Georgia defenders in the Sugar Bowl, we could have easily seen him flying over defenders on the hardwood.

There is no doubt about his athleticism of the field, his legs have carried the Irish into the CFP National Championship. As On3 High School shows, Leonard was a high-flying 6’4” guard on his high school basketball team in Fairhope, Alabama.

Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard had an INSANE dunk reel in high school

Leonard scored more than 2,000 career points and had multiple D1 offers before choosing to play football at Duke.

Read: https://t.co/vmVjQaZE1D

pic.twitter.com/G9o7wPUx3V
— On3 High School (@On3hs) January 20, 2025

As the reel shows, he was not afraid to take the ball to the basket and even had a 360-degree dunk in the middle of a game. Posterizing defenders and dunk contest highlights were regular occurrences on the court.

Leonard finished his high school career with over 2,000 points scored and received scholarship offers from UAB, Missouri State, and others.

Oct 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) throws the ball during the first half against the Navy Midshipmen at MetLife Stadium.© Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

His love for basketball did not fade when he arrived a Duke to play football. “…we used to go to Cameron late at night and hoop, which is dope,” he told Robert Griffin III . “I was always trying to sneak in there and play with them boys and see if I could really prove myself.”

What could have been for Riley Leonard on the basketball court we will never know, but lucky for us, we get to see Riley Leonard on the biggest stage in college sports tonight in Atlanta.

This article first appeared on Mike Farrell Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: