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.

If an NFL team does select Leonard in April, he’d likely be viewed as a developmental prospect or depth option rather than as an immediate starter. Other draft ‘big boards ’ do have Leonard as a lower ranked draft prospect and rate him as a projected sixth round pick.