Riley Leonard needs to take 'natural progression' soon, says Mike Denbrock

There hasn’t been any issue more pressing for the Notre Dame football team than their passing game this season. That is of course, because the passing game has left a lot to be desired so far.

While things haven’t gone at all that well in that regard, the Notre Dame coaches are still holding out hope that starting quarterback Riley Leonard will get better. That’s mainly because it doesn’t appear there’s any chance he won’t be the starting quarterback outside of injury.

Notre Dame football offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock talked earlier this week about the improvements he wants to see from Leonard. And the improvements he would like to see very soon.

"I just hope that continues to build," Denbrock said. "Because, obviously, when we threw the ball vertically down the field, there were some good things that happened."

Notre Dame football looking to continue to build in passing game

"You hope that the natural progression continues to build and that he takes from the confidence-building that there was in last week's game and continues to push on the gas and cleans up some of the cupcake throws that maybe we missed that we’ve got to hit."

That’s not the first time the coaches have talked about knowing Leonard has missed some easier throws. Luckily Denbrock stayed away from comments like “we won’t call the plays the QB can’t execute” the way head coach Marcus Freeman did after the game last Saturday.

It’s long been thought that when the Notre Dame football team rolls into the stadium against Louisville Saturday afternoon, the Cardinals’ biggest weakness is their defense against a deep passing game. Unfortunately, it’s not clear if Leonard can take advantage.

We’ll see on Saturday if he can take the next step and grow into someone opposing secondaries fear.