Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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32 PRESEASON 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY JACK SOBLE E very once in a while, Jeremiyah Love reminds onlookers that he's different. The sophomore running back might explode up the middle for a chunk play before the second-level defenders have a chance to react. He might haul in a downfield completion with wide receiver- like concentration. Or he might run over a defensive back like a speed bump. Anyone can see it. Notre Dame does, too. And it knows what it has to do to take advantage. "You don't have to be a rocket scien- tist to know in our offense, you gotta find ways to get Jeremiyah Love the ball," Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said. The "how" is more complicated and, of course, more secretive. But Notre Dame understands that Love is too explosive to be content with handing him the ball in the backfield and leaving it at that. New offensive coordinator Mike Den- brock figured that out early, expressing similar feelings in March and April. Ev- erything he's seen since then has proved his point. "He's got that ability to hit a home run every time he touches the ball," Denbrock said. "Obviously, the more of those guys you have, the better chance you have of creating explosive plays. And we want to be an offensive unit that's built on explosive plays." Denbrock, who is reported to be the highest-paid offensive coordinator in college football at $2.1 million per year, has the job of finding ways to get the ball in Love's hands. He sowed the seeds of expanding Love's role in spring ball, when the St. Louis Christian Brothers College graduate cross-trained with the wide receivers for several days. As the Irish go through their installs, Love has stuck with the running backs early in fall camp. But when he went home for the summer, he trained as a wideout. That's his preference, as he explained Aug. 2. "Just trying to improve my game in that area, because running back, I think it just comes naturally to me," Love said. DOING IT ALL With sky-high expectations and a mandate to get him the ball, Jeremiyah Love is set to take off in 2024 Love trained at wide receiver during the offseason to expand his game. "It just makes me more versatile," he said. "You can put me out in space, give me the ball." PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER