Riley Leonard has Notre Dame on the cusp of its first national championship in 36 years.

A former star at Fairhope High School near Mobile, Leonard quarterbacked the Fighting Irish to a 27-24 victory over Penn State in the Orange Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game on Thursday night. Notre Dame now stands one win away from its first national title since the 1988 season, and will face the winner of the other CFP semifinal, Friday night’s Cotton Bowl Classic between Texas and Ohio State.

As Notre Dame awaits its opponent for the Jan. 20 championship game in Atlanta, here are five things to know about Riley Leonard:

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1. He was a 2-sport star at Fairhope High School

Leonard was a second-team all-state quarterback for the Pirates as a senior in 2020, but those who saw him play both sports might argue he was even better in basketball (his father and uncle both played Division I hoops).

The 6-foot-4 Leonard was two-time Coastal Alabama Player of the Year and Class 7A Player of the Year in Alabama as a senior, an electrifying athlete who averaged 20.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game for a team that finished 27-2. However, he was a bit undersized for basketball at the next level, and had only small-college offers in that sport.

The COVID pandemic hit during the spring of Leonard’s junior year, meaning he could not attend football camps or making on-campus visits during the recruiting process. Thus, he was a 3-star prospect in football and his only power-conference offers came from Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Nebraska and Duke.

2. His Mobile connections helped him land at Duke

Leonard trained growing up with noted quarterback guru David Morris of QB Country in Mobile, and that relationship had a major influence on his choice of colleges. Morris was a backup quarterback at Ole Miss in the late 1990s, when David Cutcliffe was the Rebels’ head coach.

Cutcliffe — a Birmingham native and Alabama graduate most famous for coaching Peyton Manning at Tennessee and Eli Manning at Ole Miss — moved on to Duke in 2008. He spent 14 years with the Blue Devils, winning an ACC division title in 2013 and coaching in six bowl games.

Cutcliffe signed Leonard in what ended up being his final recruiting class in 2021, as the coach retired after a 3-9 finish that fall (Cutcliffe later said not being able to coach Leonard his entire career was a great regret of his). Leonard played in seven games as a true freshman — mostly serving as the primary backup to starting quarterback Gunnar Holmberg, but starting one late-season loss at Virginia Tech.

3. After a dynamite sophomore year, battled injuries in 2023

Leonard became the Blue Devils’ full-time starting quarterback in 2022, and enjoyed an outstanding sophomore season. He started all 13 games, passing for 2,967 yards with 20 touchdowns and only six interceptions, while rushing for a team-best 699 yards and 13 TDs.

Duke finished that year at 9-4 under first-year coach Mike Elko, beating Central Florida 30-13 in the Military Bowl. Leonard capped his breakout season by passing for 178 yards and rushing for two touchdowns as the Blue Devils recorded their highest victory total in eight years.

The success did not sustain itself the following year, however. After Leonard led Duke to a 28-7 win over perennial ACC power Clemson in the 2023 opener, ankle and toe injuries limited him to seven games and ultimately ended his season in late October (ironically, he suffered the ankle injury during a late-September loss to Notre Dame).

4. His family ties led him to Notre Dame

Elko left for Texas A&M after the 2023 season, and Leonard entered the NCAA transfer portal three days later.

After some early rumors he might return to his home state and play for Auburn (where his long-time girlfriend, Molly Walding, was and is a student), Leonard committed to Notre Dame in mid-December. It turned out to be a no-brainer of a decision for Leonard, as he had deep personal history with the Fighting Irish.

Leonard’s great-grandfather, James Curran, played at Notre Dame during the glory years of the early 1940s. Leonard grew up a Fighting Irish fan, and has said he watched the 1993 film “Rudy” — the story of 1970s Notre Dame walk-on Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger — nearly every day as a child.

This season for the Fighting Irish, Leonard has passed for 2,606 yards and 19 touchdowns with eight interceptions while rushing for 866 yards and 16 scores. Against Penn State on Thursday night, he shook off two early interceptions and a second-quarter injury that caused him to temporarily leave the game to lead Notre Dame to victory, rushing for a touchdown and throwing a 54-yard TD strike to Jaden Greathouse to tie the game in the fourth quarter before kicker Mitch Jeter won it on a 41-yard field goal with seven seconds left.

5. He’ll return home for the Senior Bowl next month

After facing the Texas-Ohio State winner in Atlanta, Leonard has one more game scheduled during his final season of college football.

He’s accepted an invitation to play in the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl, which is set for Feb. 1 in Mobile. In announcing his commitment to the annual all-star game and NFL draft showcase on Thanksgiving Day, Leonard said he was “incredibly grateful” for the opportunity.

“As a kid from Fairhope, Alabama, I grew up going to the game, and having a chance to play in it is truly a blessing,” Leonard said. “So, I’ll see you guys in Mobile. Happy Thanksgiving.”

Leonard should be among the top drawing cards for the Senior Bowl, along with fellow quarterback Jalen Milroe of Alabama, running back Jarquez Hunter of Auburn and linebacker (and Mobile native) Shemar James of Florida. Senior Bowl practices are open to the public and run from Jan. 28-30 at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the South Alabama campus, also the site of the game that Saturday.

Kickoff for the College Football Playoff National Championship Game is set for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 20, at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. ESPN will air the game live.