We are back with another 5 Deep article, this time with Duke starting QB Riley Leonard.
DFBT: Now that we are halfway through the season, you’ve been responsible for 12 touchdowns – 8 through the air and 4 on the ground. Which one stands out to you as your favorite so far?
RILEY: Probably the rushing touchdown of sixty-something yards. It’s good to go out there and show off the legs a little bit. There are a lot of doubters in the running game from my end, so it was good to take off on one like that one time.
DFBT: Walk us through a typical film session with Coach Johns. What are you guys looking for and discussing?
RILEY: That’s hard to explain because we’re all over the place. It’s organized chaos. Coach Johns is incredible. He makes us know everything about the offense and then everything about what the defense is doing as well. We’re on the board. We’re watching film. He’s standing up; then we’re standing up. It’s very active, and we’re just learning ball. Super grateful for those meetings every day.
DFBT: Since we know you love basketball, who is a former Duke basketball player you’d most like to meet and why?
RILEY: Grant Hill. My dad played against Grant Hill back in the day. I think he clamped him up…from what he says. We’ll have to watch the film or see the stats on that. But Grant Hill is an incredible player.
DFBT: You’re stranded on an island with one book, one TV show series, and one movie. What are they and why?
RILEY: All right. One book: The Bible of course. Easy. TV series? Can I go two? The Office of course. And then Game of Thrones. Other than those two, it’s not even close. Movie…(long pause)…let’s go Inception. It’s a great one. Mind twister for sure.
DFBT: You and Darius Joiner lace them up and play some 1 on 1 basketball. Who wins? (Darius was within earshot listening to this answer.)
RILEY: This is not even close. You guys see the film; you can decide. Obviously we can’t decide in person because Darius won’t ever come to the court with me. Maybe in the off-season he will be there, because I’m always there. We’ll see if he ever shows up.