Pair of former Alabama high school stars face off in College Football Playoff National Championship

It’s certainly not an ideal matchup for college football fans here in Alabama. Even if Tide and Tiger fans can’t agree on much, there’s a pretty good consensus on how people feel about the two teams competing for a national championship.

But there will be some players with ties to Alabama including a pair of players who starred at the high school level in our state.

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard (Fairhope) and Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins (Pike Road) may hail from the same state but only one of them will lead their team to a national title this season. Here’s what you need to know ahead of kickoff:

• Who: #6 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. #5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
• When: 6:30PM | Monday, Jan. 20
• Watch: ESPN

Keep reading to learn more about each player’s path to the championship game + what kind of impact they could have Monday night.

Riley Leonard, Notre Dame

Riley Leonard has been one of the surprise stars of the 2024 college football season.

He showed some glimpses of the kind of athlete he could be when he was at Duke, enough to put him on the map for many schools when he entered the transfer portal. But not many could have predicted the success Leonard would have in South Bend.

In his first season with the Fighting Irish, Leonard has accounted for:

• 14 wins
• 19 passing touchdowns
• 16 rushing touchdowns
• 3,472 yards of offense

In the College Football Playoff, Leonard has three passing touchdowns and a pair of rushing touchdowns, including one in the semifinal victory over Penn State.

Leonard, who grew up in Fairhope, played both basketball and football for the Pirates, getting Division I offers in both sports.

Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State

Judkins had little more hype coming out of high school, rushing for over 3,000 yards and 51 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Pike Road.

After two seasons as the star back under Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss, Judkins transferred to Ohio State and he’s made a massive impact in his first year with the Buckeyes. As a junior, he has racked up:

• 1,100 yards of offense
• 13 touchdowns
• 5.4 yards per touch

Judkins scored two touchdowns including the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter of Ohio State’s semifinal win over Texas.

Who will you be rooting for Monday night? Let us know by tagging The Bama Buzz on Instagram, X, Facebook + LinkedIn.