Notre Dame Star Jeremiyah Love Not Slowed Down by Sickness
The focus over the last three weeks has been on Jeremiyah Love’s health as the sophomore running back was held out of a large portion of the second half against USC.
Love was seen wearing a knee brace during Monday’s practice, but the biggest story of the day was Notre Dame’s star was sick.
The St. Louis native sounded like he had been through a war with the flu following Notre Dame’s 27-17 win over Indiana in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Yet, it didn’t slow down Love as he shined under the bright lights of Notre Dame Stadium.
“I came into this game battling a few things,” stated Love. “I probably sound pretty terrible, but I came off of a little injury. I'm sick. Being able to come into this game and do what I've got to do for this team, it was special. I want to do anything for my brothers and to help this team succeed.”
Love set the tone early for Notre Dame as he ran 98 yards to the house following an Xavier Watts interception on the second drive of the game.
And despite two Indiana defenders making up some ground at the end, Love was never worried about getting caught.
“I was just out of breath,” laughed Love. “I was gassed. I was looking up on the video board. He wasn't going to catch me. I slowed down. I slowed down. I knew I was going to score.”
The run was the result of work on the practice field, as the offensive line did exactly what they had been emphasizing over the last few weeks.
“You're backed up on your one-and-a-half-yard line, and you call something that you hope is protected on the edges, and the guys understand and do a nice job of executing, and here comes No. 4,” smiled offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock. “Anthonie Knapp did an unbelievable job. I thought the tight ends did a nice job of wiping out the front side of it.
“We did a good job of building a wall on the backside, which is something we spent a lot of time working on over the course of the last two weeks, and if you give this guy an inch, he's going to take a mile, and God bless him for doing so.”
Denbrock has seen a lot of special players during his career, but it’s easy to tell Love is up there on his list.
”He is the engine that kind of sparks this thing to go in a real positive direction,” Denbrock said. “Every week, he seems to find a way to make an explosive play, hurdle somebody, and run for 98 yards. What do you want? It's kind of dealer's choice, and I'm honored to have him around.”
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman also believed the play gave the entire team confidence as the Irish took momentum with the interception and touchdown on back-to-back plays.
“We get an interception on defense and that first play to go 98 yards was huge just for everybody,” stated Freeman. “Yes, the offense, but the overall confidence of our team. To go up 7-0 with that type of touchdown. We know he's not 100 percent. We're just going to keep getting him healthy. But he showed on that play whatever percent he is, once he breaks through that third level, it's hard to catch Jeremiyah Love.”
Love was also impressed with the atmosphere as Notre Dame Stadium hosted the first-ever home playoff game at the FBS level.
“It was a great experience,” said Love. “I don't think that I'd be able to match any other experience with that. Being able to do that with people that I train with day in and day out was great. It was really special to see all the fans cheering for us, just rooting for us, and just helping us play to our best abilities.”
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