Notre Dame Star Running Back Jeremiyah Love's Unique Visits Before Committing

Notre Dame wouldn't be in the national championship game without running back Jeremiyah Love

Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love (4) scores a touchdown while being chased by Indiana Hoosiers defensive back D'Angelo Ponds (5) and Indiana Hoosiers defensive back Jamari Sharpe (22) during the first half of a game between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in first round of the College Football Playoff on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in South Bend. | Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame is playing in Monday night's national championship game against Ohio State with a chance to win its first title since 1988.

At least part of the reason Notre Dame is one of just two teams left playing football this year is because of the play of standout running back Jeremiyah Love. Love has had a breakout season and done things Notre Dame hasn't seen at running back in a very long time.

How Love even ended up choosing Notre Dame looks incredibly improbable looking back.

Jeremiyah Love's Rough Visit to Notre Dame

Love was one of the nation's top-ranked running backs in the 2023 recruiting class, but hadn't made a decision yet entering the fall of 2022.

Love spent the second weekend of the regular season on Notre Dame's campus where the Irish were hosting Marshall in the home opener of the Marcus Freeman era. That game of course went horribly but the good news for Notre Dame was that Love, the fifth-ranked running back in the 2023 recruiting class according to the 247Sports composite, wasn't in the stadium for the final quarter.

According to 247Sports national recruiting analyst Tom Loy, Love was instead being shown around Notre Dame's campus during that forgettable fourth quarter that saw Marshall complete one of the biggest upsets in Notre Dame history. Loy shared a memory of that story earlier this week.

🤣 Incredible throwback. https://t.co/RffmHRZ8uR

— Tom Loy (@TomLoy247) January 14, 2025

Clutch move by Chad Bowden, no doubt. Love wasn't turned off by Notre Dame and in fact kept the Irish towards the top of his list that included offers from powerhouse programs like Alabama, Michigan, Texas A&M, Georgia, LSU, Miami, and plenty of others.

Jeremiyah Love's Notre Dame Commitment Came on a Bad Day for Irish, Too

Oct 15, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman and Stanford Cardinal head coach David Shaw shake hands after the Cardinal defeated Notre Dame 16-14 at Notre Dame Stadium. | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Taking Love out of the stadium for the upset and around campus seemed to work because by mid-October the St. Louis native was back in South Bend. This time he made his commitment to Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish official before the Irish hosted Stanford on October 15.

Despite being a 16.5-point favorite over the lowly Cardinal, Notre Dame fell on its home field 16-14 to fall to 3-3 at the season's midway point. You could argue that was the lowpoint of Freeman's time at Notre Dame as the Irish fell to just 3-4 overall under his direction.

Freeman and Notre Dame have of course turned the ship, going 30-5 since that game was played while going 14-1 to date this season, while Love has been a major part of things, totaling 1,354 yards and 19 touchdowns this season.

Jeremiyah Love Notre Dame Highlights from 2024 Season

In case you've got a couple of minutes to kill, enjoy just some of Jeremiyah Love's best plays from the 2024 season to date below.

Jeremiyah Love's Incredible Touchdown Run vs. Penn State

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