Below is an excerpt from Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love’s scouting report on The SIS NFL Draft Website.
Click here to read the full report and ratings from Jeremy Percy, as well as statistical analysis from our R&D team.
Overview
Love is a well-rounded and explosively athletic running back with a solid build, true game-breaking threat every time he touches the ball, and the skill set to play every down. He figures to make an immediate impact at the next level.
Jeremiyah Love plays running back in Notre Dame’s balanced offense that featured both zone and gap-run schemes. Love spent all 3 years of his collegiate career at Notre Dame and started 29 of the 41 games he played in over that time. He injured his knee in the 2024 season finale, but still competed in the College Football Playoff without missing any time. Love also competed in track and field in high school; he excelled at long jump and was the Missouri state champion in the 100m dash. He is a solidly-built athlete who is a bit high-cut and lean in his lower body with a game-breaking speed and explosion abilities. Love has a great motor and runs with tenacity and toughness to fight for extra yards and fall forward through contact.
Love’s skill set does not dip at all in the pass game. He has smooth and reliable hands out of the backfield and can be trusted to make plays on all 3 downs. Love lined up in the slot occasionally at Notre Dame and even showed good route running ability, which makes him a matchup nightmare against linebackers and safeties. He is also a very solid pass protector, both in technique and strength. He does a great job of squaring blitzers up to hit him in the chest and rarely loses ground to power rushes due to his strong lower body. Love’s ability in the pass game makes him a true three-down threat out of the backfield with the added flexibility of playing in the slot.
Love is a big-play threat every time he touches the ball in the run game. He has good vision overall but occasionally lacks patience when running between the tackle and gets too eager to bounce the ball outside rather than wait for blocks to develop. He also is not the quickest in short areas when cutting back in zone or making defenders miss in the hole. Once he breaks through the line, however, Love’s weaknesses are very few and far between. He has elite long speed and has the potential to score anytime he sees the open field. Love has a gliding running style and a good ability to read and leverage space while being elusive in the open field. He has very good contact balance and excels at keeping his feet when he is not hit squarely and picking up big chunks after contact. Love is not the most powerful back who will consistently run through defenders and is not ultra effective on the goal line, but has enough power to finish off runs with attitude and fall forward consistently. He has excellent ball security and has fumbled only once on 450 touches in his college career.
Love is a well-rounded back with elite playmaking ability who poses a threat to score every time he touches the ball. He is scheme versatile and can thrive both in zone and gap schemes. While he still has some room left on his frame to add bulk if he desires, he has the build and ability to get vertical between the tackles and bounce outside for big gains. Love has a great skill set to be a three-down back and be trusted both as a receiver and in pass protection on 3rd downs. Despite his ability, Love does not have a lot of tread on his tires for a running back and will enter the league with fresh legs and no major injury history. He should not be used on special teams often, but he can also be a gamebreaking option as a kick returner if his team needs a spark in high stakes situations.
