The Notre Dame Fighting Irish extended their fine form of the ongoing season in the recently concluded Orange Bowl, registering a win by a narrow margin against the Penn State Nittany Lions. However, Notre Dame’s victory did not come without a price, as their star QB Riley Leonard had to prematurely exit the game due to an injury. But what actually happened to the 22-year-old player during the Notre Dame vs Penn State game?
Here’s everything you need to know regarding Leonard’s latest injury.
What happened to Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard?
Riley Leonard suffered from a concussion in his team’s 24-27 win against Penn State, which forced the Notre Dame QB to leave the field before halftime.
The unfortunate incident occurred when the Irish were trailing the Lions by 10-0. In an attempt to get his team back into the match, Leonard made a solid attempt to drive the play forward. However, opposing defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas ended up spoiling Leonard’s charge by putting in an authoritative challenge. Riley Leonard, Notre Dame’s starting QB, fell to the ground as a result and inadvertently injured his head.
The former Duke Blue Devils player then proceeded to make his way to the medical tent for further evaluation. In the meantime, head coach Marcus Freeman decided to put Steve Angeli in Leonard’s stead and he ended up securing his side’s first points with a field goal.
Despite the injury, Riley Leonard was spotted warming up after halftime, with the Notre Dame QB even returning to the field in the third quarter. ESPN’s Molly McGrath soon reported that the team had conducted an extensive medical evaluation of Leonard for concussion. Nevertheless, the results did not show that he was at risk.
Freeman also provided an additional update on Leonard’s condition, stating, “I’m just glad he’s healthy, I’m glad he was able to come back today. But also, he’ll be healthy for the next one,” as per The Sporting News. So, it looks like Leonard will be appearing in Notre Dame’s upcoming fixtures.