SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Gib Leonard will watch from his couch on Monday night. That view is probably better anyhow.
The grandfather of Notre Dame’s starting quarterback can pause and rewind the plays as he likes. The price is right too. So, as Riley Leonard leads Notre Dame against Ohio State inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, chasing the Fighting Irish’s first national championship in 36 years, one of his role models will be at home in a 900-square foot cinderblock house in Fairhope, Ala., without much of a lawn.
“Kind of my whole life he’s been somebody who’s led by example,” the Notre Dame quarterback said. “A lot of the lessons I’ve learned have come from him.”
That’s not to say Riley memorized his grandfather’s lines or how to deliver them. One has never met a stranger, at least one wearing Notre Dame gear or Duke before that. The other plays quarterback, where part of the job is being an extrovert, like it or not. Gib likes it. Riley, less so, no matter how much it seems like he does while becoming the face of Notre Dame football during the longest season in school history.
Still, there will be a little bit of Notre Dame’s quarterback back home in Fairhope on Monday, just like there will be a little bit of Gib Leonard on the Irish sideline. Parents Heather and Chad will be in the stands with their other two sons, Devin and Cole. Riley’s girlfriend Molly Walding will be there too. Gib will be there in spirt.
Gib attended Notre Dame’s wins over Georgia and Penn State. When the family rented a house in New Orleans, Gib stayed at a La Quinta Inn. When the family checked into a hotel in Miami, Gib got a $42 rental close to the beach (“a shack” according to Chad). He made home games against Stanford and Virginia, too. The rest he watched the rest from home, witnessing his middle grandson play out a dream in South Bend after transferring from Duke.
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About 10 years ago, Gib relocated from Washington, D.C., to Alabama to be closer to family, getting the live version of three boys finding their way through sports. He did analysis for the Fairhope basketball when games streamed online, never at a loss for words. All three boys played there. Riley was the state’s player of the year.
“I can watch any football game and not have any real emotion, but it’s so different when you have blood out there on the field,” Gib said. “The journey has been just awesome. I’m really proud of the boy. He has really, really stepped up.”
The feeling is mutual.
Gib Leonard is a big inspiration for his grandson, Riley. (Courtesy of the Leonard family)
Riley Leonard doesn’t know his grandfather without the trips to Zimbabwe.
Gib started traveling to Africa 20 years ago on a charitable church trip. He saw how the communities in the northwest part of the country lived, a world away from the gated communities of Washington, D.C., and their eight-bedroom estates. Running water was scarce. Reliable food sources were scarcer. A one-week trip during the summer of 2004 became two. Then it became a month. Then two. And now six, blurring the lines of what’s actually home.
Gib Leonard started the Buy a Brick Foundation to raise money for construction projects in the villages. It’s helped build 40 school blocks, 22 large community gardens and one commissioned medical clinic, with a second close to coming online. He works with the government and local tribes to irrigate with water from the Zambezi River, which powers Victoria Falls.
“The Lord put a whooping on me when I was there the first time,” Gib said. “You get a wake-up call when kids have to walk two miles to get a five-gallon pail of water instead of going to school.”
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Both of Riley Leonard’s brothers have made the trip to Zimbabwe. His parents will go for the first time this summer. The foundation built a lodge 10 years ago that can house 38 volunteers. When not in use, it can be rented out, with the money going back to Buy a Brick. The 70-year old Gib has a small house on the property where he stays with his wife Leigh. Riley hasn’t had a break in his schedule long enough to make the trip, although he’s sent T-shirts from his summer camps to the villages.
“I think Riley really wants to make an impact on the world in a positive way. When you’re a kid, you don’t really know how to do that,” Chad said. “But you see somebody doing it like Gib and you’re influenced by it. He’s played a part in showing Riley how to give back, give to others.
“When you know what a dollar will do in Zimbabwe, you’re not spending $1,500 on a ticket.”
Around Notre Dame, Leonard volunteers at Ronald McDonald House, which supports families of sick children. When he did an autograph signing at Dick’s Sporting Goods in September, he kicked the NIL funds to his offensive line. Leonard knows it all matters, even if what his grandfather has done in Zimbabwe exists on a different scale.
When Buy A Brick began work on that first medical clinic, it was in response to a buffalo attack on a 15-year old girl named Leona, who suffered a compound fracture in her left leg and was rushed to Victoria Falls Hospital for surgery because there was no medical care in her village. A year and a half later, Leona was back on the girls soccer team. The clinic is named after her.
“When I’m going through the ups and downs the season, I kind of think back to that and the people that he’s affecting over there,” Leonard said. “It helps a lot to have that perspective. You know there’s kids over there who have to go through a lot worse than losing a football game.”
Riley Leonard has Notre Dame playing for its first national title since 1988. (Courtesy of the Leonard family)
Riley Leonard walked into the Notre Dame locker room two days after losing to Northern Illinois, trying to keep his head down. The program had gone from national title contender to punch line in a week, winning the big game at Texas A&M before collapsing at home against NIU. Leonard threw two interceptions in what’s still the biggest upset of the season.
Marcus Freeman had already tried to reset the quarterback, telling him he’d someday be thankful for the worst afternoon of his life. Leonard heard Freeman. It’s not clear he listened.
As the quarterback moped his way into the locker room before practice, a couple of younger players called him out — not for the bad throws 48 hours earlier, but because Leonard still seemed hungover from them. Leonard had been out front with his faith since showing up at Notre Dame. Now he seemed to be putting it back in his pocket.
“‘Dude, you say it’s faith, family, football, but a football game two days ago is completely affecting your family and your faith. Tell me how that works,’” Leonard remembers hearing. “That kind of shook me up a little bit.”
Leonard hasn’t lost since. It’s impossible to account for all the reasons behind that, from Freeman resetting the quarterback to offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock better understanding how to call the game for him. Leonard gets copious support from back home in Fairhope, too: parents, brothers, old coaches, grandfather. Gib likes to text Riley and makes sure the quarterback knows he doesn’t need to reply, ending messages with “no response needed.” He has enough on his plate already.
“He’s big on not blowing up my phone,” Riley said. “It’s funny. A lot of the times the people who are closest to me are the ones who kind of understand you’ve got to lock in a little bit.”
While backing off is not Gib Leonard’s default setting — he’s quick to show videos on his cell phone of his grandson’s dunks or recount old Fairhope playoff losses that still bother him — he understands. He’ll watch from home on Monday, witnessing one of the biggest games in Notre Dame football history through the lens of perspective when the Irish kick off against the Buckeyes.
And whatever happens, Riley Leonard will take the field with a little bit of his grandfather with him.
“He says the most selfish thing you can do in this life is help somebody else,” Riley said. “People don’t know what he means. But he thinks it’s more selfish to help somebody else because you get more out of it. The act of giving is higher than the act of receiving.”
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(Top photo: Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images)
