Duke football gets commitment from QB, adding to 2021 recruiting class

Duke football (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
Duke football (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)

The Duke football team added to its already impressive 2021 recruiting class with the addition of quarterback and Alabama native Riley Leonard.

It’s another win on the recruiting front for David Cutlfiffe and the Duke Blue Devils as the program received a commitment on Monday afternoon from Riley Leonard, a prostyle quarterback from Alabama.

The Blue Devils beat out Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and Nebraska for the services of the Fairhope, Alabama native.

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Leonard stands at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds and starred at Fairhope High School not only on the gridiron but also on the basketball court.

The two-sport athlete also held basketball offers from Missouri State, Samford, UAB, and North Alabama after averaging 20.9 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

While his accomplishments on the court are impressive, he also showed what he can do on the football field completing 102 of 172 passes for 1,231 yards and running for just under 500 yards and eight touchdowns in his junior season.

The offers came in quick and recently for Leonard as Duke only extended a scholarship to the quarterback on May 3, but he had been in contact with the program since January.

Riley Leonard already had some ties to the Duke football program and head coach David Cutcliffe as his personal quarterback coach, David Morris of QB Country, was coached by Cutcliffe at Ole Miss and was the backup to eventual NFL star Eli Manning.

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Morris worked out Manning during his time in the NFL and currently trains former Duke quarterback and Giants star Daniel Jones, along with others.

https://twitter.com/rileyleonard12/status/1262487900396097537?s=20

Riley Leonard marks the 10th commitment for the Blue Devils in the Class of 2021 with an even split of offensive and defensive players.

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Leonard is also the second quarterback to commit to Duke, although Jordan Moore is listed as a dual-threat and could change positions once he arrives in Durham.

The Blue Devils currently have the No. 39 recruiting class in the country for 2021 and the No. 8 class in the ACC.