Summer Enrollee Updates: Tracks Stars Jeremiyah Love, Micah Bell, Luke Talich
Notre Dame added plenty of speed and athleticism in the 2023 recruiting class. Three different skill players validated their acceleration by competing in high school track this spring.
Christian Brothers College (Mo.) running back Jeremiyah Love ran a wind-aided 10.54 in the 100-meter dash in April.
Shortly after, Love stepped back from competing to focus on getting faster ahead of postseason races. Last Saturday, he won the 5A Boys 100 Meter Dash Sectional finals by running a 10.71, beating five-star wide receiver Ryan Wingo.
He’ll compete in the state meet this weekend.
Due to track, Love has dropped a bit of weight and sits between 185 and 189 pounds. He also thinks he’s grown an inch or two in the last year and might be 6-foot-2 or slightly taller.
Next week, he plans to return to the weight room to prepare physically for the demands of playing football at Notre Dame.
The top-100 prospect could play early in South Bend, especially after running back Logan Diggs transferred to LSU.
“I'm just going to come in and compete,” Love said. “If I play, that'd be great. But if I don't play as much, then that'd be great, too. I don't want to put a lot of strain on my body anyway.
“My mentality is basically to come in and compete. I don't care who I'm competing against. If Logan was there or if he's not there, I don't really care. I'm coming to compete. I'm hoping to play a little bit early, not too much. If I do end up playing a lot, then that's great.”
Love wrapped up his high school career with a 4.1 GPA and was named Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year.
“I have a Gatorade Player of the Year bookbag that I wear everywhere,” Love said. “It's great having that title and it basically shows me that I've come very, very far because I didn't even think that I would come up to even win an award like that or a title like that.”
He’s ready to get on campus in June and adapt to his home for the next four years.
“I really just want a new experience, a new environment,” Love said. “I'm ready to meet some new people and take football to a higher level by playing at a higher level. When I first get into college, I'll focus on getting settled, getting to know the environment, get to know players. I'm studying my playbook quite a lot right now. I'm just trying to get everything set up before I really start to play.”
Micah Bell
The Kinkaid School (Texas) cornerback Micah Bell ran a personal best of 10.41 in the 100-meter dash as a junior and senior.
The 5-foot-10 and 170-pound four-star prospect will immediately be one of the fastest players on Notre Dame’s roster in June.
“It's a big part of my game,” Bell said. “I always have that under my belt and we're working on explosion during track workouts, so it's good for that.”
This spring, he also spent significant time in the weight room and consistently ran through speed and footwork drills.
“I've been sending some of my film to coach [Mike] Mikens,” Bell said, “so I can get some feedback, studying up on the game, looking at receiver splits, so I can kind of tell what route they'll run.
“I like what he teaches, what his philosophy is, so I'm not [going to be] a stranger to it when I get there.”
Bell played offense and defense in high school and says he still has much to learn about playing cornerback. He can’t wait to get on campus to absorb as much information as he can from Coach Mickens.
“I would say just being more of a student of the game,” Bell said. “Everything else will work itself out.”
Luke Talich
Cody H.S. (Wyo.) safety Luke Talich led the Broncs to a third-place finish in the 4A State Championship tournament before transitioning to track.
This spring, Talich set personal bests in the 100 and 200-meter races with times of 10.72 and 21.85. Last weekend, he took first place at the Wyoming State Championships in the 100, 200 and long jump.
Even more impressive, the 6-foot-3 athlete did so after adding significant lean muscle mass.
“I think I've probably gained 10 pounds since the football,” Talich said. “It's good. I had never been able to gain weight, but I did this year.”
The only area where his added size hindered his performance was the long jump. As a 180-pound junior, Talich jumped 23’ 9,” but this spring topped out with a distance of 22' 11” in the state championship.
That’s still quite the feat and puts the incoming three-star prospect among top skills players in college football athletically.
Talich turned down scholarship offers from Utah, Oregon State and Wyoming to attend Notre Dame, his childhood dream school.
“I'm looking forward to just getting started and getting in the weight room,” Talich said. “I know it's not gonna be easy or anything, but I'm excited to see if I can gain some more weight and put some muscle on and things like that.
“Hopefully, I can put myself in a position where I can have an opportunity to prove that I can play I mean this first year. I would like to be on scholarship after the first year because it's a lot of money.”
Especially given the limited depth at the safety position, he should get the chance to compete early.
Talich will arrive on campus a few days late to compete in the June 10 Wyoming Shrine Bowl, a high school football all-star game that raises money for the Shriners Hospitals For Children in Salt Lake City.
The following day, he and his parents will hop on a plane in Denver and head to South Bend.
“Hopefully, I can just put myself in a good position and I don't get injured or anything,” Talich said. “I'm excited to get started and get rolling. I'm super stoked to get there.”