Notre Dame’s new starting quarterback, Riley Leonard, is putting his faith in the forefront as he steps into his new role. Leonard previously attended Duke University for three seasons before transferring to Notre Dame. While he revealed that the school’s iconic football history (he’s admitted to watching the film “Rudy” every day growing up) and impressive defense were factors in his decision, his own faith and the school’s Catholic heritage were major factors in coming to the Fighting Irish in South Bend, IN. “Every single person in [hometown Fairhope, AL] that I came into contact with helped me with my faith. I’m able to bring that [to Notre Dame]. Obviously that’s the most important thing in my life. When I go to bed at night, I’m not thinking ‘how many touchdown passes did I throw?’ ‘Did we win or lose?’ I’m thinking, did I better my relationship with Jesus Christ? Did I treat my girlfriend with respect? Did I call my parents?” he said during his media debut as the team’s starting quarterback.

That faith was on display during the team’s first game of the season against Texas A & M. Leonard could be seen with a cross made of eye black on his cheek as he led the team to a 23-13 victory over Texas. He also wore the Bible verse Matthew 23:12 on his wrist. The verse states, “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” In a press conference after the team’s win, Leonard shared about the team’s faith off the field. “One of the biggest bragging points about this team is we have, like, 40 guys show up to our Bible study sometimes every Thursday,” he said. “That’s really a credit to them. It started with, like, five guys, but it’s grown to 40. This team is just so close. And everything that we do, we do as a unit.”

Former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy praised Leonard’s faith on X. Dungy has openly shared his faith during his tenure as head coach and since retiring and he shared the video of Leonard’s post-game interview where he shared about the Bible verse on his wristband. “I love it, Riley, keep representing,” he wrote.  Leonard and the rest of the team will now move on to face Northern Illinois on Saturday.