By the time Riley Leonard reported for work with the Indianapolis Colts at their rookie minicamp over the weekend, the former Fairhope High School quarterback already had been working.

“What’s been cool is I’ve been able to hop on Zooms with my (quarterbacks) coach, Cam Turner, ever since I got drafted,” Leonard said. “So we hit a Zoom a day for around 45 minutes or so, and I’ve been just learning the offense.

“And it’s been really good for me to kind of learn six installs and then go back to Day 1 install when I get here. That does a lot when you’re trying to lead a team and be a rookie quarterback stepping into a program. It’s like, ‘Hey, I kind of know your splits and I know your depth and I can talk you through the routes and my reads and my concepts because I’m confident in it.’ So that’s been really good. The system’s very friendly, quarterback-friendly — a lot of options in your progressions and things like that.”

The Colts chose Leonard in the sixth round of the NFL Draft on April 26, and he reached out for Pro Bowl help to prepare for his entry into the NFL. The football coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Philip Rivers had a 17-year NFL career, earned seven Pro Bowl invitations and ranks sixth in NFL history in passing yards and touchdown passes.

“The first time I really got to work with him was when I brought six receivers down to his house, which is like two minutes from my house,” Leonard said. “And I brought six Notre Dame receivers down there last summer to train for three days. We stayed at my hometown, took them to all the good spots and then we trained with Philip, which was very beneficial for me because I did that in the summer, but all of spring ball, I was hurt. I had three surgeries that offseason, so I wasn’t able to participate in spring ball, so Philip played a huge part of our development as a Notre Dame offense.

“And then throughout this offseason, I went back home to train, and he was very influential throughout that process. And then I got drafted to the Colts, and the first guy I’m hitting up is Philip. Like, ‘Hey, when can I come over to your house?’ And, obviously, he’s a busy man, so sometimes it was later at night where we were just going over the playbook, talking ball, because he understands and knows this scheme very well from his playing days.”

Shane Steichen, the Colts’ head coach, worked six seasons with Rivers with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, including four as the quarterbacks coach.

Leonard said Rivers shared “some things here and there that Shane really likes and likes to see in young quarterbacks. I think a guy who can put his head down and go to work and come in humbly is a big thing. And then making the right read, right? You don’t want to be the guy to skip a hitch and try to throw a corner route versus certain coverages. Like, if you can take 5 yards, take 5 yards. Be disciplined. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone other than the fact that you can operate the offense.”

Leonard said he had something of a rehearsal for his move to the Colts when he transferred to Notre Dame after three seasons at Duke. The Fighting Irish advanced all the way to the CFP national-championship game with Leonard under center in 2024.

“Lucky for me, I went from Duke to Notre Dame, which was a big step, so to speak, in college football,” Leonard said, “so having a new locker room that I had to adjust to last year really helped me out this time around.

“And, fortunately, going to the national championship, a lot of guys kind of know me and my brand, which I’m very fortunate for because I’ve always kind of been the guy who didn’t have any offers, really. Went to Duke. I was probably their eighth quarterback that they wanted to commit, but I committed kind of on the spot. I was just kind of always the guy that nobody knew, so it’s been cool for guys to reach out to me, too.”

Leonard said the experience at Notre Dame made him more NFL-ready in other ways, too.

“You learn how to be a professional from the day you walk into the locker room,” Leonard said. “And you don’t learn it through the X’s and O’s in the playbook. You learn it from the environment around you. So like if I went into Notre Dame’s facility at 10 p.m. at night, there’s guys in there constantly working because they’re all trying to make it to the NFL and win a national championship. That is our goal as a program, and everybody’s in there for the same purpose, rhyme and reason, so I think Notre Dame teaches you the intangibles that just set you up perfectly for the next level.”

With rookie minicamp over and his first NFL contract signed, Leonard can join the Colts’ veteran players in the team’s offseason program.

Leonard became the third quarterback on the Indianapolis roster.

The fourth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Anthony Richardson started four of his first five games as a rookie QB before an injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. Richardson started 11 games in 2024, but the Colts also used veteran Joe Flacco as their starter in six games.

Flacco is with the Cleveland Browns now, but former New York Giants starter Daniel Jones joined Indianapolis as a free agent this offseason to provide competition for the starting spot.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.