Pro Football Rumors
Widely considered the RB1 of this year’s draft class from the start of the season, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love has surprised absolutely nobody with his announcement today (via Instagram) that he is declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft. While the perpetual debate around this particular position being first-round-worthy is sure to rear its ugly head, Love has garnered several first-round grades following an impressive junior year.
A consensus top 100 prospect coming out St. Louis, Love fielded offers from nearly every major program as one of the top backs in the Class of 2023. He took official visits the summer before his senior year to Texas A&M, Oregon, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Alabama. When the paid trips were done, only the Aggies and Fighting Irish saw him on campus on his own dime before his eventual commitment partway through his final season of high school ball.
As a true freshman in head coach (for now) Marcus Freeman‘s second season at the helm, Love was the team’s second-leading rusher, though it was a distant second as bell-cow back Audric Estime led the team with 210 carries (compared to Love’s 71). After seeing Estime get drafted in the fifth-round to Denver, Love took over the lead back role, though the rushing attack in his sophomore campaign proved to be much more of a committee than in 2023.
Dual-threat quarterback Riley Leonard led the team in carries (184) and tied Love for the team-lead in rushing touchdowns (17), but with a healthy 6.9 yards per rush attempt, Love led the team with 1,125 rushing yards on 163 carries as a sophomore. That year redshirt sophomore Jadarian Price got a healthy secondary dose of his own, as well, logging 120 carries for 746 yards and seven touchdowns in the Irish’s three-headed rushing attack that took them to the College Football Playoff championship game.
With a new, more stationary quarterback under center for his junior year, Love saw a nice boost to his usage. Despite opening up his 2025 campaign with a season-low 33 yards in a loss to the Hurricanes, Love rattled off a few monster performances in games against Purdue (19 carries-157 rushing yards-2 rushing touchdowns), USC (24-228-1), Boston College (17-136-2), Pittsburgh (23-147-1), and Syracuse (8-171-3). In four fewer games than his sophomore season, Love tallied 199 carries for 1,372 yards and 18 rushing touchdowns, all while redshirt junior Price still accounted for 113 carries for 674 yards and 11 touchdowns of his own.
In Dane Brugler of The Athletic’s midseason rankings of his top 50 draft prospects, Love registered at No. 5 overall as one of only two running backs to make the top 50 — the other being Price at No. 39. Love runs with a smooth yet explosive style. He displays impressive patience as he floats through the first level before exploding to the second. He finds several ways to be elusive and hard to bring down — his favorite of which tends to be the “Y”...
