Riley Leonard was 'overwhelmed' when he first arrived at Notre Dame football

Riley Leonard knew he badly wanted to be at Notre Dame football for a while. He also knew that things were a bit overwhelming when he arrived on campus.

That may sound strange for a veteran college quarterback who was almost certainly the king of his castle at Duke. However, there’s a big difference between the Blue Devils and the Fighting Irish.

The Notre Dame football quarterback might have still been feeling a bit overwhelmed when the season started. That would certainly help explain why the offense has improved so much over the last few games. It was thought that his injury and lack of contribution in the spring was a big part of it. But it makes some sense that a lot of the issue would be mental.

Notre Dame football quarterback overcoming being overwhelmed

“Everybody thinks of Notre Dame as just this powerhouse,” Leonard told the media on Saturday. “I was a little overwhelmed whenever I first committed, but then once you get in here and start meeting these guys, they're just normal dudes just like me.”

Leonard also talked about how past Irish quarterbacks gave him a ton of advice.

“Every single one of them just told me, 'Don't take it for granted and don't have any regrets,'” Leonard recalled. “I talk about it a lot, but I think regret only comes from missed opportunities, not failed opportunities. If you want to throw it and you don't throw it and let it rip, you're going to regret that. But if you throw it and something bad happens, it is what it is. At least you gave it a shot and every single one of them told me that along the lines and really to just find myself, find my peace.”

Riley Leonard has had a bit of an up-and-down season, but especially recently, it’s been up. It’s possible we’re seeing the Notre Dame football quarterback's personal growth in real-time.