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When a generational talent steps on the field, they’re easy to pick out. Typically, it's because one unmistakable trait separates them from the rest. For many, that manifests as an elite breakaway speed. Some dazzle with video-game-esque juke moves. For others, it’s a toughness that refuses to be brought down. Then, there are the few rare exceptions who don’t just excel in one area. Instead, they do it all.
For Notre Dame, junior running back Jeremiyah Love was exactly that. In 2025, the do-it-all playmaker etched his name into the Irish history books, recording a record-breaking 21 total touchdowns. And although Love wasn’t able to showcase his otherworldly skill in the College Football Playoff, the ending to his Notre Dame career wasn’t sour. In fact, it was rather sweet.
Love became the first Golden Domer since Manti Te’o to be honored as a Heisman finalist. The St. Louis, Mo. native ended up finishing third in the running behind Fernando Mendoza of Indiana and Diego Pavia of Vanderbilt.
The weight of Love’s accomplishment wasn’t lost on him. At his media availability the day before the Heisman Trophy presentation, Love said, “To be able to be spoken about like some Notre Dame legends have, it’s a great honor, and I hope I continue to set a great standard for players that come to this university in the future.”
The legends Love mentioned refer to Notre Dame’s seven Heisman Trophy winners and a host of finalists through the years. Love’s feat is made even more commendable considering he is only the third Notre Dame player to be named a Heisman finalist in the 21st century.
Apart from breaking the single-season touchdown record, Love’s third-place finish can largely be attributed to his big-play ability. In a world where more players are becoming products of the system, Love is an exception. From his one-handed catch versus A&M to his 94-yard touchdown against Boston College, Love’s catalog of explosive plays is the stuff of legend.
However, neither of those plays is the one Love views as the cream of the crop.
“I’d say the spin move versus Pitt. Starting off the game fast. I think they had the number one rushing defense in the country, and we completely just trashed that in literally the first drive, so that was definitely my favorite moment,” Love replied when asked about his personal ‘Heisman moment.’
Love’s answer is hard to argue against. With College GameDay in town for Notre Dame’s top-25 clash on the road at Pitt, all eyes were fixated on how Love would attack the Panthers’ nation-leading run defense. His response? A 56-yard first-quarter house call that included a spin move so sweet it left two Pitt defenders crashing into each other.
The killer mentality Love possesses on the field is invisible outside it. Off the gridiron, Love is a softly-spoken, humble 20-year-old. And while Marcus Freeman’s intense pre- game speeches help mold the gentle superstar into a Heisman candidate, Love’s main hype man is somebody who has been in his corner for as long as he can remember.
“My dad gives me my confidence before every game. We have a special moment before every game. He just makes sure I’m in my right mind space, and without that, I feel like I wouldn’t be able to go out there and do the things that I do because he instills that confidence within me,” said Love.
At a school steeped in tradition, one of Notre Dame fans’ favorite unofficial traditions is watching Love’s father, Jason, hype his son up before each game. It’s a scene that’s been years in the making. As a kid, Love remembers the passion for football his father instilled within him.
“Back in the day, my dad would show me Barry Sanders highlights,” Love said. “While I wasn’t alive to watch him, I watched some of his highlights growing up.”
Love’s appreciation of Barry Sanders is evident in the way he plays: fierce, agile and beyond evasive. Both Love and Sanders adhere to a higher order of footballing excellence, defying the odds of what’s deemed possible on a football field.
Love’s brilliant 2025 campaign ultimately resulted in him finishing with 46 first-place votes, 157 for second-place and 267 third-
place votes for the Heisman Trophy. Perhaps if Love received more than 10 touches in the Irish’s heartbreaking loss to Miami in the season-opener or didn’t get banged up in Notre Dame’s final game against Stanford, his Heisman fate would’ve been different.
But regardless, what Love accomplished in 2025 was extraordinary. He finished the regular-season fourth nationally in rushing yards despite splitting reps with future NFL back Jadarian Price. Every time Love received the ball, the Irish faithful held their breath in anticipation to see what Notre Dame’s greatest showman would do next.
Unfortunately for Notre Dame fans, Love’s next move takes him to NFL Sundays. With a first-round grade to his name, he will undoubtedly add immense value to whatever team ends up with him. Many insiders are projecting him to land within the top 10, which would make him the Irish’s first offensive skill position player drafted that high since quarterback Rick Mirer and Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis went second and tenth overall, respectively, in 1993.
From his feat of superhero strength against Penn State in the 2024 College Football Playoff to his Heisman-finalist 2025 season, Love had a simply remarkable Notre Dame career. In a place where legend looms, Love became one of its own.