Roy Hobbs wanted to be “the best there ever was.” Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love will settle for less, but he still has lofty NFL aspirations.
“I want to be one of the best of all time,” Love, a potential top-10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, said at Notre Dame’s Pro Day on Tuesday, according to ABC57. “I want to be a Hall of Famer. I want to be a Pro Bowler my very first year. I want to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“I tell them [NFL teams] all these goals that I have. Obviously, these are goals. Goals are goals, but you’ve got to have a process for how you want to achieve those things. I’ll go every season and set out little goals, like per week, what I can do to make sure that I’m reaching the bigger goal that I have for myself. I’ve told all these teams this. It’s a lot of big talk, but I have a process and I have a plan for how I’m going to get there.”
Love, who finished third in the voting for the 2025 Heisman Trophy Award, rushed for 1,248.5 yards and 17.5 touchdowns on 6.9 yards per carry and 181.0 rushing attempts per season from 2024-25 for the Fighting Irish. He also recorded 27.5 receptions for 258.5 yards and 2.5 touchdowns per season over that span.
Last season, Love’s 18 rushing touchdowns were tied for third in the country, while he ran for a career-high 228 yards in a Week 8 matchup against Notre Dame’s bitter rival USC.
Moreover, Love is third in Notre Dame history with 36 career rushing touchdowns despite just 433 rushing attempts from 2023-25. For context, Allen Pinkett, who’s first in program history with 49 rushing touchdowns, had 889 career rushing attempts, while Autry Denson — who’s second in Notre Dame history with 43 rushing scores — had 854 career rushing attempts.
Regarding next month’s NFL draft, Indiana Hoosiers quarterback and 2025 Heisman Trophy Award winner Fernando Mendoza appears poised to be selected by the Las Vegas Raiders with the No. 1 pick, while the New York Jets will likely take an edge rusher at No. 2 (e.g., Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Arvell Reese or Texas Tech star David Bailey) after trading Jermaine Johnson to the Tennessee Titans in February. Then, it’s wide open.
The Arizona Cardinals (No. 3), Titans (No. 4) and New York Giants (No. 5) could conceivably take Love and make him their featured running back; Tennessee and Arizona were 30th and 31st in the NFL in rushing yards last season, respectively, while running back Cam Skattebo is coming off a season-ending ankle injury for New York.
