Riley Leonard knows what pressure feels like.

He knows what it's like to have all eyes on you, to have to meet the expectation of being your absolute best every single day. There's no way he couldn't, really, after leading Notre Dame all the way to the College Football Playoff National Championship in January.

Leonard effectively burst onto the college football scene during his year at Notre Dame; he played (and played well) at Duke for the first three years of his college career, but Leonard's success as a member of the Fighting Irish catapulted him into the spotlight. His leadership, faith and work ethic became the topics of football talk shows and website articles around the country as he led the Irish to a 14-2 overall record and the College Football Playoff, always more excited to talk about his teammates than himself.

Eight months later, nothing has changed – except for the uniform.

After he was selected by the Colts in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, Leonard expressed how excited he was simply to be a member of the Colts organization. He knew he still had a lot to learn and even more room to grow, but he just wanted to be in the building to have that opportunity. Throughout training camp, Leonard – knowing he was going to have to work to earn a spot on the depth chart behind Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson Sr. – continued to impress his teammates and coaches with his desire to work and improve.

But practice reps are different than in-game situations, and Leonard only had so many opportunities to prove himself.

On Saturday, Leonard had one final chance to make an impact in the preseason as he started the Colts' third preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals. But Leonard wasn't focused on what his performance might mean for his future or thinking about the kind of pressure he was under – he was just excited to play football.

"I kind of had to remind myself before the game, this is why you play," Leonard said after the game. "You play to have fun, just try to go back to the little kid who's playing in the backyard. Because you get to this stage, and there are a lot of things that can overwhelm you. But luckily, I've had a lot of big games that I've played in my life, so I've been in this situation before, where there are a lot of expectations, and (I) always just go back to my roots, that little kid who loves the game."

Leonard played the whole first half of Saturday's game and completed 15-of-20 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown with a 59-yard heave to wide receiver Laquon Treadwell. In In the 41-14 victory, Leonard led a total of three scoring drives (one field goal, one rushing touchdown and one passing touchdown).

"I thought it was impressive," head coach Shane Steichen said. "He's a grinder type guy, loves ball, always working, studying the game. And obviously this was an opportunity to go out there in the first half and see what he can really do with those guys, and I thought he did a great job."

Leonard played with an impressive level of poise throughout Saturday's game, efficiently moving the ball and connecting with multiple receivers. He handled pressure from the defense well, moving in the pocket, and showed his proficiency on short yardage plays. But his throw to Treadwell, the 59-yard touchdown pass, was undoubtedly the most enjoyable one of the day.

Not just because of the touchdown, or the opportunity it gave Leonard to praise the 10-year veteran Treadwell after the game – "somebody I really look up to and hope to be half the man he is one day, because he's a very special person," – but because it was a sign of the work Leonard put in throughout training camp, to let himself just revert back to being that little kid who wants to make a big play.

"Overall, the thing I grew most in was just not really caring," Leonard explained. "Just going out there and letting it fly. I think sometimes in the past I just put too much pressure on myself to try to be perfect. But luckily, I'm in a situation now (where) Daniel (Jones) and Ant (Anthony Richardson) are getting a lot of the ones and two reps, and I've just got nothing to lose. Go out there, let it fly, have some fun."

Whether or not the Colts will choose to keep Leonard on the 53-man roster as an emergency third quarterback remains to be seen, with roster cutdown day on Tuesday, but the rookie certainly made his case as to why he could be valuable to have around.

"He's a grinder type guy, loves ball, always working, studying the game," Steichen said. "And obviously this was an opportunity to go out there in the first half and see what he can really do with those guys, and I thought he did a great job."