SOUTH BEND, Ind. — (AP) — When quarterback Riley Leonard transferred from Duke to Notre Dame for the 2024 season, he immediately went to work building chemistry with his new teammates.
He brought six Fighting Irish receivers to his home in Fairhope, Ala., to get to know each other and train with former NFL great Philip Rivers before hitting the field for the season opener.
Jayden Thomas was one of the receivers on the trip, and talked about Leonard taking the receivers sport-fishing.
“I didn’t catch anything,” Thomas lamented.
It’s a different story now that Thomas is on turf instead of water. Thomas caught a 5-yard TD strike from Leonard in Notre Dame’s 27-17 victory over Indiana in the opening round of the College Football Playoffs.
That victory earned the seventh-seeded Fighting Irish (12-1) a match against second-seeded Georgia (11-2) in the CPF quarterfinal round on Wednesday in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
Notre Dame has been lighting up the scoreboard this season (38.8 points a game, fourth in the …