CHARLOTTE – Being in the Class of 2021 meant Riley Leonard didn’t have a busy visit schedule, he wasn’t hitting a bunch of camps as a recruit, and he didn’t have a robust offer sheet.

Duke’s quarterback committed two months into the COVID-19 pandemic and only had eight offers (five of them at the Power 5 level).

So he never really had a chance to measure himself against his peers. Sure, there’s measurement in game performance; but it’s not like he’s on the field at the same time as his counterparts.

Until last month when Leonard was a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy.

“I never took an official visit anywhere, never took an unofficial visit anywhere,” Leonard said on Wednesday at The Westin Charlotte during ACC Kickoff. “A little bit of that was because of COVID, a little bit was because I just wasn’t recruited.

“So going out there and throwing with those guys who are the best quarterbacks in the nation, and rightfully so, I realized that like, physically, I’m there.”

The Manning Passing Academy is always a who’s who of the top college quarterbacks convening at Nicholls State University in Thibodeaux, Ala. — so it was a return to Leonard’s home state.

Measuring himself against UNC’s Drake Maye, Florida State’s Jordan Travis and other top QBs was valuable for Duke’s QB.

“The next step that I have to take is just being the smartest guy out there,” Leonard said.

You might know the numbers by heart at this point of the preseason. Leonard completed 63.8% of his passes for 2,967 yards and 20 touchdowns, with six interceptions, and rushed for 699 yards and 13 touchdowns last season.

In his first season as a starting quarterback, Leonard exceeded expectations. He started as an unknown and ended the season as one of the ACC’s best quarterbacks — more impressive when considering the star power of the position recently.

“We're really excited to see him elevate his game. He showed us last year just he has a tremendous competitive spirit,” coach Mike Elko said of his quarterback. “He knows how to elevate his game at the right time and in those critical moments he is able to make the plays we need him to make for us to win football games.”

Leonard’s roommates for the camp in Alabama were Maye, Travis and former N.C. State starter Devin Leary, who transferred to Kentucky. He pointed out that the quartet was “just a bunch of ACC guys.”

“You think you’re going to get in there and there’s going to be some controversy,” Leonard said. “Naw, we all just got in there and had fun.”

Maye and Travis are the favorites to be named ACC preseason player of the year; Leonard isn’t quite in that stratosphere of hype.

But he knows where he stands by way of competing against them at the Manning Passing Academy.

“I'm looking forward to seeing him as an established starter going into Year Two, as a kid who is a lot more comfortable in our system,” Elko said. “I think his game can even take another step.

“So, I think he deserves to be in that conversation with the best quarterbacks in this league. No disrespect to anyone else's, but we've got a really talented one in Durham for sure.”

Taking the stage at ACC Kickoff for 5 minutes and doing another 45 minutes of interviews in a ballroom is hardly the biggest stage Leonard will be on this season.

We’re 40 days away from Duke opening the season against Clemson, after all.

But Heather Leonard still had to play the part of a loving mother who keeps her son humble ahead of Duke’s turn at the league’s preseason football media event.

“She texted me last night, ‘Hey, don't suck at these interviews,’” Riley Leonard said, as the storyline from Duke’s spring game resurfaced and his mom’s playful way of motivating him came to light again.

Leonard didn’t suck in his interviews; he’ll keep receiving his mom’s traditional words of encouragement.

And now Duke’s underrecruited and often-overlooked QB knows where he stands.