Freshman RB Jeremiyah Love Thriving at Notre Dame
It's a season of new experiences for Notre Dame freshman running back Jeremiyah Love.
The 5-foot-11, 197-pounder has found himself in the thick of Deland McCullough's deep running back rotation and he's found early success.
Love is Notre Dame's second-leading rusher, as he's totaled 225 yards on 31 carries and one score, which hasn't necessarily been surprising to the St. Louis native.
During his recruitment, Love was more than fine with redshirting in year one, so sharing the workload with four other backs hasn't been an issue.
When push comes to shove, Love committed to being part of a three running back class, but Dylan Edwards and Jayden Limar decommitted, so in all reality, the running back room is less crowded, which hasn’t been lost on him.
"Yeah, I kind of expected it," Love said of playing early. "Coming in, I knew what I was getting myself into. Shoot, I thought we were going to have more running backs. The running backs I committed with all decommitted, so I was expecting there to be a lot of running backs. That's what I was hoping for so we can all share the load and not put as much stress on our bodies.
"I think it's great for all of us. We all stay healthy because of it. I knew from the start there would be a lot of running backs."
How did Love work himself into the rotation without being an early enrollee? Well, it started with a mindset to run hard and with passion.
"I try to get everything I can out of each play I get," explained Love. "I wasn't getting a lot of snaps, so I tried to take advantage of the plays I was getting - run as hard as I can and make the most plays as I can. That's going to be my mindset going forward, no matter how many carries or snaps I get. When I'm in there, play to the best of my ability and play my hardest."
Offensive coordinator Gerad Parker and head coach Marcus Freeman have both admitted they knew during summer workouts that Love would have a role in the offense after seeing him run.
Elite speed was something the staff wanted to match with Audric Estime and Love has filled that void.
"When you saw him in summer running, when we first got a chance to do it, it was kind of one of those moments where we're like, 'wow, he can go' and then to go on with it, which is a testament to Delan and him," stated Parker. "He picked up on it pretty fast. He's at a point now where he understands most of it. He's done a really good job learning and he's gifted, so we've got to keep finding ways.”
Love will also be the first to admit there is plenty to work on and it starts with mastering every detail of the running back position.
“I have to really focus on the small things," said Love. "Details matter. When I’m in, I actually have to know what I'm doing. Coach says clarity equals velocity. If you know what you're doing, you'll be able to play faster and perform better.
"I just look at the small details, make sure I know what I'm doing so that I can play as fast as I can and as best as I can.”
Estime is not only the veteran in the room, but he currently leads the nation in rushing with 672 yards in six games.
Love hasn't hesitated to learn from Estime going back to fall camp and now as he prepares each week.
"Audric works very hard in practice and games," Love stated. "He takes stuff very personally. This is probably Audric's last semester here. I watch him and admire his work ethic. I try to learn after him. I'm just taking in everything from Audric. He's a great player and I really look up to him at the end of the day."
The ability to play fast has always been there for Love. In fact, Love took pride in being fast and elusive during his little league days as he played a game with his peers called Michael Myers.
Yes, the person with the ball is Michael Myers and the goal was to run away from people trying to tag the ball carrier.
"There would be a set amount of people on offense who were survivors and then most of the team was on defense trying to tag the people on offense," Love recalled. "In that little drill right there, I was running away from people, making people miss and it was just fun. It’s been incorporated into my game ever since I was small. It's just been become a natural thing for me to do.”
And with a season of new experiences, Love banks on a game day tradition with his father to settle him down.
As Love enters the field for warmups, his father finds his way to the tunnel to share a brief moment before the craziness of college football starts.
"That's like our pregame ritual," said Love. "We've been doing that since I was about six years old. My dad reminds me I'm me and to do the best I can. We've been doing it since I've been playing football and it pumps me up before the game. It gets me locked in and ready to play."
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