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Mike Elko takes on Riley Leonard

Vaseline September 1, 2024

It’s an oddity neither of them expected, considering they’ve won so many matches together.

Coach Mike Elko and quarterback Riley Leonard used their success at Duke to catapult themselves to the upper echelons of college football. Elko is the new head coach at Texas A&M. Leonard is the new starting quarterback at Notre Dame.

And one of them will have to lose his debut on Saturday.

No. 20 Texas A&M will host No. 7 Notre Dame in a key non-conference game to open the 2024 college football season. ESPN’s “College Gameday” will be in College Station, Texas for this rare matchup, and the shared history between Elko and Leonard will be a defining storyline of Week 1.

Here’s everything you need to know about Leonard, Elko and the fascinating dynamic that could define Saturday’s 2024 college football season opener between Texas A&M and Notre Dame:

Notre Dame embraces distractions in docuseries ahead of 2024 football season opener at Texas A&M

How to Watch and Stream Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M

The Week 1 non-conference game between No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 20 Texas A&M will be televised nationally on ABC. You can stream the game on WatchESPN, ESPN+, or with a Fubo subscription.

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Why Riley Leonard Transferred to Notre Dame

Leonard threw for 33 touchdowns in 2022, helping the Blue Devils to a national No. 16 ranking before suffering an injury in 2023. Leonard announced on social media in December that he would transfer to Notre Dame, calling the move “a dream come true.”

Leonard’s great-grandfather played football for the Fighting Irish, and his favorite movie is “Rudy,” according to ESPN. Notre Dame saw Leonard as a replacement for Sam Hartman, the quarterback who transferred from Wake Forest for a year last season. It was the only school Leonard visited during the transfer process.

Riley Leonard Injury Update

Leonard, a Fairhope, Alabama native known for his dual-threat abilities, suffered ankle and toe injuries that derailed his promising 2023 campaign at Duke. Ironically, he initially injured his ankle in Duke’s 21-14 loss to Notre Dame last September. Leonard returned for two more games before turf toe sidelined him for the final five games of the Blue Devils’ season.

Leonard underwent surgery on his ankle in January and then had another surgery that shortened his spring training in March. Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman told reporters the second surgery was to address a stress fracture that had developed. Leonard declared himself healthy ahead of preseason workouts last month and is still on track to start Saturday’s game against Texas A&M.

How Mike Elko Replaced Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M

Elko was hired by Texas A&M last November, a little more than two weeks after it fired Jimbo Fisher in a record-breaking buyout and a reported effort to find Kentucky coach Mark Stoops failed. Elko spent four seasons as defensive coordinator at Texas A&M under Fisher before becoming Duke’s coach in 2022.

Elko led Duke to its best record (9-4) since 2014 in his first season and followed it up with another bowl campaign in 2023 despite Leonard’s absence at the end. Elko previously had successful stints as defensive coordinator at Notre Dame and Wake Forest. Texas A&M went 34-14 during his time as defensive coordinator, and those ties proved attractive to the Aggies after their high-profile firing of Fisher.

Why Notre Dame Will Play Texas A&M to Open the 2024 Season

Coincidentally, Texas A&M will begin the first year of a home-and-away series with Notre Dame to kick off Elko’s tenure as the Aggies’ head coach. Notre Dame is set to host Texas A&M in 2025 under a contract the two schools signed in 2014. It will be just the sixth time they’ve played in football and the first since 2001.

“We had a goal of adding representatives from the Southeastern Conference to our future schedules,” former Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said at the time.

What Riley Leonard and Mike Elko Said Before Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M

“I think it’s interesting and it’s weird and it’s not really something I want to do,” Elko said when asked about facing Leonard at Texas A&M’s press conference earlier this week before Saturday’s game. “But at the end of the day, it’s part of the game. I obviously have a tremendous amount of respect for who he is, not only as a player, but as a young man, his family and all that. It’s going to be three hours of games against each other and then the rest of the year we’re rooting for him.”

“I don’t want it to be about me versus him,” Leonard said of Elko. “Of course it’s going to be that way, but I’d rather see Notre Dame versus A&M. … It’s awesome to be able to play him. It’s not just him. It’s a lot of the Duke coaching staff and a lot of people I’m close to. We’re all extremely competitive. This game means a lot to me. People say every game is the same, but this one means a lot to me.”