In 1940, James E. Curran played his final year of football at Notre Dame. He started his college career in 1938 as a member of the national championship team and later became a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. Fast-forward more than 83 years after Curran graduated, and another member of his family was getting ready to don the Blue and Gold. His great grandson, Riley Leonard, entered the transfer portal after three years at Duke and will play on the same field when Notre Dame plays Northern Illinois on Sept. 7. Marcus Freeman knew of Leonard’s family history and wove it into the Fighting Irish…