3 biggest questions surrounding Notre Dame football this spring

2. Can Riley Leonard pick up where Sam Hartman left off?

Last offseason, Marcus Freeman hit the portal to find a quarterback and ended up with arguably the top transfer on the market in Wake Forest's Sam Hartman. He was a sixth-year senior and wanted to finish his career at an elite program, pushing for a national title. He fell short of those expectations but still passed for 2,689 yards and 24 touchdowns to just eight picks and a career-high 63.5 percent completion rate.

Those are some big shoes to fill.

Some thought Steve Angeli would be given the reins after his fantastic performance in the Sun Bowl win over Oregon State, but Freeman landed yet another elite transfer in Riley Leonard from Duke.

The Duke transfer is coming off an injury-plagued season and he hit the portal because his head coach (Mike Elko) left for the Texas A&M job. Notre Dame feels like a good fit for him, but he really only has one season in which he proved to be a top-tier quarterback. That was in 2022 when he had 2,967 yards and 20 touchdowns through the air along with 699 yards and 13 rushing scores. Injuries derailed his 2023 season.

Will he pick up right where Hartman left off and lead this offense to new highs? I think he has the potential to do that, but we'll see how quickly he grasps this offense and how he gels with his new teammates this spring.