Growing up just 2.5 hours away, Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard has been to New Orleans plenty of times.

“New Orleans is a very special place,” Leonard said Monday ahead of Notre Dame facing Georgia in the Sugar Bowl in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals on Wednesday. “Obviously, being a couple hours from here, I’ve experienced it, but a lot of these guys are from the Northeast, so for them to be able to come down here and enjoy the warmer weather than what we’re used to, everybody is talking about how different street names are pronounced and beignets and all these special things about New Orleans. There’s a lot of cool things and traditions here that we really appreciate.”

And because he’s from not too far away—Leonard and his parents have had plenty of inquiries from family and friends.

“I try to not listen to it but everyone is hitting up,” Leonard said Saturday with a laugh. “Luckily most people know not to hit me up and go through my parents but I’m going to need a lot of tickets.”

Leonard says he made sure to chat with Irish punter James Rendell about tickets.

“I’m like, ‘dude there is no way you have six people coming from Australia to New Orleans’ so I think he should be able to give me some,” Leonard said.

One thing Leonard hadn’t experienced in New Orleans before was the opportunity to visit the Super Dome. He visited it for the first time Monday when Notre Dame took part in a practice there & Wednesday he will get to play there. He certainly knows the significance of the stadium.

“A lot of history there with Katrina and all that,” Leonard said. “Growing up, it’s this mecca of the southern part of the country, and it’s a special place. Drew Brees, one of my favorite players growing up, so it will be a lot of fun to step out there. Luckily, we have practice there. So it won’t be like we’re going in the first time. We’ll understand the stadium a little bit before getting in there.”

Leonard’s journey this season has come full circle. He had an incredible start with the win over Texas A&M but then struggled greatly as the Irish were stunned in the home opener against Northern Illinois. Coming off an ankle injury from a year ago and adjusting to a new system, Leonard slowly meshed with Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock as the season progressed and has looked like a totally different player in the 2nd half of the season.

Now he gets his opportunity to play in the Sugar Bowl with a spot in the CFP semifinals on the line.

“This is why I came to Notre Dame,” Leonard says. “I remember leaving Duke, which I didn’t want to do but I was thinking to myself, I’m going to come out swinging and I want to compete for it all and here we are. A dream come true for me.”

And growing up in the heart of SEC country certainly gives him an understanding of the challenge ahead against Georgia.

“Watched a lot of Georgia football in the past and they do a really good job,” Leonard says. “A lot of different fronts, a lot of different coverages on the backend. We got to be great in protection there. They’re going to be really well coached and fly around and have a lot of really good athletes. Like I said, we play our game, control the line of scrimmage, and stay above the chains, we’ll be all right.”

Notre Dame and Georgia will kickoff at 8:45pm Wednesday night with a spot in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals on the line.