Duke star quarterback Riley Leonard wants to set one thing straight.

“Hey, I do my homework,” the former Fairhope quarterback said in an interview on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile this week.

Leonard made national headlines at least twice this week – once by leading his team to a 28-7 upset win over then top-10 ranked Clemson and then by pleading with one of his professors in a postgame, on field interview for an extension on his homework.

“It’s crazy,” he said. “You say one little thing, and people just run with it. I feel bad for my professor. It was meant to be more of a little shoutout, but I don’t think a lot of people understood his sarcasm in his response. Great guy. He ended up having my back, and we figured it out.”

In a video posted on X, Leonard made a plea Monday night for an extension on his homework assignment in his public policy class that was due at midnight. Professor Donald Taylor appeared to deny Leonard’s request in a humorous social media response.

“Hey Riley, great game last night, man it was so exciting. Congratulations to you and all your teammates,” Taylor said. “You know Wesley Williams and the other lineman who are in the class, they said they prepared ahead and did it ahead of time. So why didn’t the quarterback? No way man. No extension.”

Leonard said he was surprised by the response on both sides of the homework debate.

“People were like, ‘Do your homework, kid.’ I was like, ‘Hey, I do my homework,’” he said. “Trust me, I do it. I was just trying to have a little fun of it.”

COLUMN: What makes Riley Leonard special off the field?

Leonard said he hasn’t had too much rest since Monday’s win as the Blue Devils prepare for another home game Saturday against Lafayette and, of course, he finishes his classwork.

“Academics are a priority for me so it’s funny seeing a lot of people say I don’t care about school because it really is a huge part of my life,” he said “The professors are great. The students are great, and everyone on the Duke football team is just as serious about academics as I am, so we’ve been handling our business.”

So, what the world wants to know. What was the final resolution to the requested homework extension? Joke or no joke?

“Let’s just say he ended up helping me out a little bit,” Leonard said “That’s all I can say. He’s a good dude.”