Jeremiyah Love

Last updated

Jeremiyah Love
2025-0118 Jeremiyah Love.jpg
Love in 2025
No. 4 – Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Position Running back
ClassJunior
Personal information
Born (2005-05-31) May 31, 2005 (age 20)
University City, Missouri, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight214 lb (97 kg)
Career information
High school Christian Brothers (St. Louis, Missouri)
College
Awards and highlights
Career statistics as of Week 14, 2025
Rushing yards2,882
Rushing average6.7
Rushing touchdowns 36
Receptions 63
Receiving yards594
Receiving touchdowns6
Stats at ESPN
Other information
Website jeremiyahlove.com

Jeremiyah Darnell Love (born May 31, 2005) is an American college football running back for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. In 2025, he won the Doak Walker Award as the top running back in the nation, becoming the first winner in program history. [1]

Contents

Early life

Love was born on May 31, 2005, in University City, Missouri to parents Jason and L'Tonya. His mother, L'Tonya, served as a sergeant with the St. Louis Police Department, [2] while his father, Jason, is an Army veteran who coached him in youth football. [3]

Love attended Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis, Missouri, where he played football, basketball, and was a sprinter for Christian Brothers' Track and field team. [4] As a junior, he rushed for 996 yards and 14 touchdowns, helping win the MSHSAA Class 6 state championship. [5] As a senior, Love tallied 1,291 yards and 22 touchdowns on 140 carries and hauled in 13 receptions for 370 yards and five touchdowns. [5] After having 317 total yards (211 rushing, 106 receiving) and five touchdowns in the MSHSAA Class 6A State Championship win over Lee's Summit North, he was named MaxPreps Missouri High School Football Player of the Year, Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year, [6] and an Under Armour All-American.

Coming out of high school, Love was rated as a four-star recruit, the 59th best player, and the 4th best running back in the class of 2023 by Rivals.com. [7] Love committed to play college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish over Texas A&M, Michigan, Alabama, and Oregon. [8] [9]

College career

2023 season

In the 2023 season opener, Love rushed for his first career touchdown on a 36-yard run in a win over Tennessee State. [10] He finished his first collegiate season in 2023 rushing 71 times for 385 yards and a touchdown, while also bringing in eight receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown. [11] [12]

2024 season

Love entered the 2024 season as the starting running back for the Fighting Irish following the departure of fellow running back Audric Estimé. [13] Love finished the 2024 season with 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground, and 28 catches for 237 yards and 2 touchdowns in the air, [14] including a school-record 13 consecutive games with a rushing touchdown. [15] This included an appearance in the College Football Playoff, highlighted by key performances and plays in games by Love. These performances and plays included a 98-yard touchdown run in the first round of the playoffs against Indiana, and a dominant rushing performance in the semifinals against Penn State in the Orange Bowl. [16] [17] Ultimately, Love and the Fighting Irish fell short in the National Championship against Ohio State. [18]

2025 season

Entering the season, Love was named to multiple award watch lists. [19] On October 11 against NC State, he rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the fourth-fastest player in Notre Dame history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards. [20] The following week against USC, he rushed for a career-high 228 yards and a touchdown, the most by a Fighting Irish player at Notre Dame Stadium and the sixth-most in a single game in program history. [21] On November 1 against Boston College, Love rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns, including a 94-yard scoring run, becoming the first player in program history to record two 90-yard rushing touchdowns in a career. [22] In the regular-season finale on November 29 against Stanford, he rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown, surpassing Jerome Bettis for the most total touchdowns in a single season in school history with 21, while tying Audric Estimé's single-season rushing touchdown record with 18. [23]

Notre Dame concluded the 2025 season with a 10–2 record and was controversially excluded from the College Football Playoff. [24] [25] Love rushed 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns, and added 27 receptions for 280 yards and three touchdowns. [26] He was named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Award, and the Pony Express Award. [27] He won the Doak Walker Award and Disney's Wide World of Sports Spirit Award. [28] [27] He also earned unanimous All-American honors. [29]

Love declared for the NFL draft on December 16, 2025. [30]

2025 Heisman Trophy Finalist Voting
FinalistFirst place votes
(3 pts. each)		Second place votes
(2 pts. each)		Third place votes
(1 pt. each)		Total points
Fernando Mendoza 643191512,362
Diego Pavia 1893521641,435
Jeremiyah Love46157267719
Source: [31]

Statistics

College statistics
SeasonGamesRushingReceiving
GPGSAttYdsAvgLngTDRecYdsAvgLngTD
2023 131713855.43618779.6331
2024 16161631,1256.99817282378.5322
2025 12121991,3726.994182728010.4363
Career 41294332,8826.79836635949.4366

Personal life

As a child, Love's parents were concerned with his social difficulties, and consulted a doctor; although they speculated he could have autism, Love's parents declined to pursue a formal diagnosis. [32] Love is a fan of Anime, and has been watching it since he was a child. His love for the genre influenced him to create his own comic book series titled "Jeremonstar", which details a world of football action with supernatural abilities, featuring himself. [33] [34]

References

  1. ↑ Driskell, Bryan (December 13, 2025). "Jeremiyah Love Wins The Doak Walker Award As The Nation's Best Running Back". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  2. ↑ Fisher-Shotton, Rowan (September 27, 2025). "Jeremiyah Love's Mom Reveals his Personal Struggles Before Arkansas Game". Athlon Sports. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  3. ↑ Pande, Nitesh (January 2, 2025). "Who Are Jeremiyah Love's Parents? All About Notre Dame RB's Mom & Dad". EssentiallySports. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Running Back". 247Sports. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Driskell, Bryan (November 29, 2022). "Notre Dame Commit Profile: Running Back Jeremiyah Love Is Dynamic". Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI. SI.com. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Jeremiyah Love is Gatorade Player of the Year in Missouri". 247Sports. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  7. ↑ Farmer, Douglas (December 21, 2022). "Notre Dame gets the letter: Consensus four-star running back Jeremiyah Love, No. 4 RB in the country". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  8. ↑ Baumgartner, Blake (October 15, 2022). "RB Jeremiyah Love joining Notre Dame's loaded 2023 class". ESPN. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Jeremiyah Love Running Back Recruiting Profile - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  10. ↑ Berardino, Mike (December 19, 2023). "Notre Dame football freshman RB Jeremiyah Love plans to 'show the world' what he can do". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  11. ↑ Shepkowski, Nick (August 3, 2024). "Notre Dame's Al Golden Gives Jeremiyah Love Incredible Hall of Fame Comparison". Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI. SI.com. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  12. ↑ Berardino, Mike (August 8, 2024). "Notre Dame football sophomore Jeremiyah Love drawing raves". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  13. ↑ Driskell, Bryan (March 29, 2024). "Notre Dame Running Back Jeremiyah Love Talks Expanding His Game, Knowledge". Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI. SI.com. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Jeremiyah Love 2024 Stats per Game - NCAAF". ESPN. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  15. ↑ Regan, Connor (August 22, 2025). "Running for the Heisman: Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love and His Path to Legacy". The Irish Tribune. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  16. ↑ "CFP First Round Recap: No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame". College Football Playoff. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Jeremiyah Love's Incredible Touchdown Run Symbolic of Notre Dame's Magical Season". Notre Dame Fighting Irish On SI. January 10, 2025. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love Named College Football's Best Returning Running Back". 247Sports. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  19. ↑ Trowbridge, Trevor (August 6, 2025). "Notre Dame Running Back Jeremiyah Love Named To The Walter Camp Player Of The Year Watch List". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Jeremiyah Love". Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  21. ↑ "The Case for Jeremiyah Love to Take Heisman Trophy Over 2025 Winner Fernando Mendoza". SI. December 14, 2025. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  22. ↑ Chen, Michael. "Jeremiyah Love set a Notre Dame football program record on Saturday against Boston College". Fighting Irish Wire. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  23. ↑ Vowles, Joshua (December 13, 2025). "Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love wins the Doak Walker Award". One Foot Down. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  24. ↑ Curtright, Austin. "Notre Dame football won't play in bowl after CFP snub". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Notre Dame controversially left out of 2025 College Football Playoff | The GIST". www.thegistsports.com. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  26. ↑ "Jeremiyah Love College Gamelog". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  27. 1 2 "Jeremiyah Love Named 2025 Disney Spirit Award Recipient". Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website. December 11, 2025. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  28. ↑ Wise, Bennett (December 13, 2025). "Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love wins the Doak Walker Award". WSBT. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  29. ↑ "Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love, Leonard Moore Named Unanimous All-America Honors". 247Sports. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Jeremiyah Love declares for NFL Draft: Notre Dame star RB projects as first-round pick". CBS Sports. December 17, 2025. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  31. ↑ Dierberger, Tom (December 13, 2025). "2025 Heisman Trophy: Full Voting Results Revealed". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  32. ↑ Curtright, Austin (September 27, 2025). "Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love's inspirational story featured on ESPN's 'College GameDay'". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  33. ↑ "Making of a 'Jeremonstar': Jeremiyah Love shares his story through passion for comics". ESPN.com. August 31, 2025. Retrieved November 21, 2025.
  34. ↑ Comics, Jeremonstar. "Jeremonstar Comic Book - Notre Dame Running Back Jeremiyah Love, Supernatural Football Graphic Novel, Original Indie Comic, Pre-Launch Access, Limited Merch, Superhero Sports Story, VIP Fan Experience, Sign Up for Early Drops and Behind-the-Scenes :: Home Page". www.jeremonstarcomics.com. Retrieved November 21, 2025.
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