The 2025 Golden Domer of the Year Award: Jeremiyah Love
- Liam Farrell
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
Notre Dame's gravity-defying Heisman finalist running back is The Irish Tribune's 2025 Golden Domer of the Year.
Art by The Irish Tribune
Jeremiyah Love is unique, not only because of his blend of speed, size, vision, and toughness from the running back position, but also because of his mindset on and off the field. In the midst of a Heisman-caliber season, Love would rarely gloat in his personal accomplishments, but rather celebrate his teammates surrounding him and ultimately, the success of Notre Dame.
Marcus Freeman is a man of many mantras, ranging from "Choose Hard" to "Delayed Gratification," yet the one that spoke the most through a reserved, mild-mannered Love was "Team Glory," a trait that helped the Irish go 24-4 during Love's time as the University's starting running back. And now, with Love's playing days over in South Bend, the talent from St. Louis, Mo. will be a surefire first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. This past season, Love rushed his way to New York, posting 1,372 yards, 21 total touchdowns, and 6.9 yards per carry.
Even with Love's accomplishments this season, he too had to wait his turn before making major waves for the Fighting Irish. Despite being a top-ranked recruit, Love watched, waited, and learned behind now Saints running back Audric Estime, yet, as Estime departed for the NFL, Love's intangibles were too electric to keep off the field.
Love's signature traits include the following:
Speed
Electrifying runs leaving defenders in the dust were one of Love's most used attributes. As big of a home run hitter as any back in the nation, Love had six 45+ yard rushes this season, with the longest being a 94-yard house call against Boston College, during which he yelled at his own sideline. Before the play, running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider was poking at Love saying he couldn't go for 90+ yards, yet, as Jeremiyah Love did multiple times during his Notre Dame career, he made a jaw-dropping play. This is a perfect example showing the true competitor that is, Jeremiyah Love.
Video courtesy of Notre Dame
Long touchdown runs have now been etched as normal activities in Notre Dame fans' eyes because of Love's ability to break one loose. This, along with his efficiency to hit the big play, resulted in a season total of 6.9 yards per carry. This was on full display against the Syracuse Orange this season as Love had 8 carries for 171 yards and three touchdowns.
Balance and Vision
The reason Jeremiyah Love was able to break loose so many runs was because of his speed and his ability to read defenses. Love's vision near the line of scrimmage was second to none and his innate feeling of knowing when to bounce runs to the outside seemed second nature. There were a handful of plays this season that seemed to be losses or minimal gains, and Jeremiyah Love would turn them into drive-extending plays.
Take this play against Navy, for example: it's 3rd and long with the Irish needing to convert to get points before the half:
Video courtesy of NBC
Love gets hit just beyond the line of scrimmage, then makes an acrobatic spin move that became a new signature move for him this season, to find the open space and erupt for 16 yards. The Irish would later score a touchdown on that drive.
Speaking of the spin-move, its crowning moment was during Notre Dame's matchup against a ranked Pitt team that was hosting College Gameday. There was a lot of buzz and excitement surrounding a potential Panthers' upset, yet Love's signature spin put Irish fans at ease.
Video courtesy of Notre Dame
Love even used the spin while being on top of other players, like he did against Navy for one of his Heisman signature plays.
Video courtesy of Notre Dame
Do it All
The aspect of Jeremiyah Love's game that made him so appreciated was his ability to do the dirty work. Love was able to be an effective blocker in pass protection, smart with the ball, and also a reliable receiving option. While winning the 2024 Golden Domer of the Year, this was the part of Love's game that improved the most over the calendar year. The most impressive feat of Love's Notre Dame career is that he never fumbled the ball. Especially at the next level, ball security is job security, and Jeremiyah Love never coughed up the ball at the college level.
In terms of catching the ball out of the backfield, Love hauled in 27 passes for 280 yards this season. There was arguably no better display of this than his one-handed catch against Texas A&M.
Video courtesy of Notre Dame
All You Need is Love
Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games, an adage that reigns true for nearly all of the best athletes in the game.
With Notre Dame's season on the line against their biggest rival, the USC Trojans, Jeremiyah Love put together the best performance of his career. Love was an unstoppable force that night against the Trojans, rushing for 228 yards, 37 receiving yards, and a touchdown. Love's tenacity was on full display, as he ran through instead of hurdling over USC defenders, and simply trusted his eyes and hit the gaps with explosiveness.
Video courtesy of Notre Dame
While it's disappointing to think that Jeremiyah Love's time with Notre Dame has come to an end, it is impossible to forget the memories he has made along the way. This award and celebration are ultimately a shrine to his accomplishments, a collection that doesn't even include his memorable moments during the 2024 season and run to the national championship game.
Jeremiyah Love's impact on the University of Notre Dame is unquantifiable as he has inspired millions across the country and showed what it means to be an elite player to wear the golden helmet. With that being said, the Irish's first Heisman finalist in 13 years is also the first ever repeat winner of The Irish Tribune's Golden Domer of the Year!
Art by The Irish Tribune
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