DURHAM – Asking defensive tackle DeWayne Carter for his view of Riley Leonard’s 44-yard touchdown run against Clemson is a reminder that sometimes the people with the worst view of a football game are on the sidelines.

“What was my view? Um, I saw the replay,” Carter said on Monday night. “I was on the bench breathing. I was breathing really hard. I look up and Riley gets to rumbling, I’m like, ‘All right.’ I just hear crowd noise, ‘All right, maybe he got the first down.’

“And you just hear noise, noise. I’m like, ‘Oh he scored, this dude’s insane.’”

That was the defining offensive play in Duke’s 28-7 win over Clemson on Monday night. Its third-year quarterback taking a QB draw on third-and-3 to the right, absorbing a couple of hits behind the line of scrimmage, keeping his feet and somehow escaping for a touchdown.

It’s the same type of play that Leonard made often last season.

It’s the same type of play that, for those just starting to pay attention to Duke football, lets them know what kind of player he is.

And it’s the latest play that gives coach Mike Elko a chance to talk about what his QB has meant to this program.

“It’s what that kid continues to do,” Elko said. “It’s his ability to elevate at the right moment, at the right time, when we need him.”

The play wasn’t initially blocked well, Elko pointed out and evidenced by the early contact.

One of Clemson’s All-ACC linebackers, Barrett Carter, is in the backfield, beating pulling guard Maurice McIntyre to the spot and putting the initial hit on Leonard. Xavier Thomas is there too; both obviously miss.

“That’s just what that kid does,” Elko said of Leonard. “He’s such a competitor. He puts this team on his shoulders and he drives them forward. He’ll come in and tell you that there’s a lot he’s got to clean up too.

“But man, when it’s time to step up and make plays, that kid’s done it since the day I got here.”

Through the air, Leonard has been better than his 17-for-33, 175-yard performance on Monday night. Adding 98 yards rushing and never taking a sack against a team loaded with defensive line talent is where you appreciate Leonard's competitive edge even more.

Leonard, of course, didn’t miss one more opportunity to remind people that he’s able to harvest negative attention into motivation.

He’s not landing at the bottom of anybody’s list of starting QBs in the ACC, but he did take note of one of the dominant storylines about Duke entering the season.

“Yeah, so everybody said, ‘Oh, Duke’s got a hard schedule this year, they’re not going to be as good.’ To be honest, we love hearing that,” Leonard said. “Obviously we had a great year last year. But we weren’t just a one-and-done caliber of a team.”

Nor is Leonard a one-and-done caliber of a QB.