Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 11, 2025 53 N o t re Da m e r u n n i n g backs coach Ja'Juan Seider knew what Jer- emiyah Love planned to do before the junior running back unleashed the move on an unsuspecting Arkansas defender. Seider saw Love practice h i s s p i n m ove co u n t l e ss times. So, when Love caught a pass in the flat from red- shirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr with one Arkansas defender to beat for a 7-yard touchdown, Seider had a vi- sion of what would happen next. Love jumped and spun to the outside to catch the pass thrown to his back shoulder. Then as soon as Love landed on both feet, he spun back to his left to avoid a tackle attempt by cornerback Kani Walker. The defender fell harmlessly to the ground as Love completed the spin then jogged into the end zone while looking back toward the rest of the defense. "I knew he was doing it before he did," Seider said. "I saw the leverage of the guy. I said, 'He's going to catch the ball, put on the brakes and spin. I've seen it out of him." Seider compared the move to some- thing former West Virginia wide receiver Tavon Austin, a two-time All-American (2011-12), could do. He's been around some others who could pull off that move in practice. That's where Love worked on making such a sudden spin move part of his game. Having the confidence to do it in a game makes it a little rarer. "It's just the first time in that game that everybody on national TV got to see it," Seider said. "But I believe what you put into it is what you get out of it. If you want to work on something, it's going to show up. "The kid is gifted. I say in my notes, 'special.' That's all you can put. I want to say we talked through it and that was coaching. That has nothing to do with drills. That's all him." Seider, who joined Notre Dame in February after coaching the previous seven seasons at Penn State, has worked on finding the right balance in helping Love improve. Love already proved last season he could be a productive running back by rushing for 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns. Seider focused on helping Love be- come a better weapon as a pass catcher, learn what opposing defenses are try- ing to do and remember that a common play can turn into an explosive play with proper patience and execution. "You've got this kid who's on every- body's list," Seider said. "He's been told how good he is but never gets caught up in it. To me, that's what I love about him. That's when you can coach your best players hard and let them continue to develop." Love's play to start the season put that development on display. Through the first four games of the season, the 6-foot, 214-pound Love rushed 66 times for 341 yards and 5 touchdowns and caught 13 passes for 149 yards and 3 touchdowns. He struggled to find much ground in the season-opening loss at Miami, in which he rushed 10 times for 33 yards and caught 4 passes for 26 yards. But he's been extremely productive since then. In the weeks that followed, Love was asked multiple times why the running game started to build momentum. He repeatedly said it was just a matter of getting the running backs the ball more frequently. Though those comments could come off as arrogant, they tracked with Love's con- fidence in his abilities. He didn't lash out in re- sponse to fewer carries than anticipated. Love remained patient alongside fellow run- ning back Jadarian Price, a redshirt junior who could also make the leap to the NFL this coming offseason. "To be as talented as they are and to be so unselfish, it's unheard of," Seider said. "Especially in this day and age when it's more about me, me, me. Everybody is talking about the Heisman, and they're talking about him and all he's talking about is his team, winning for the team. That's what I'll always remember about J-Love when he leaves here." Even more so than the hurdling abil- ity that's become a signature move of sorts for Love. Seider supports Love's appreciation for the hurdle and consid- ers it another way he can protect him- self rather than put himself in danger. That's because, in Seider's opinion, it's more likely a defender won't touch Love when he hurdles them instead of them grabbing his leg and taking him down. Seider wants to make sure Love is hurdling with a purpose and fully com- mitting to it when he does it. Seider re- minds Love that he's capable of beat- ing defenders in other ways, too. But sometimes a coach has to stand back and watch the talent take over. "What I don't want to do is ever re- strict a player who's gifted," Seider said. "And it's so easy. You coach them hard, but there's a fine line. You'd better be careful so you don't restrict him and take that away. "There aren't too many people who can do what he does. He's that 1-percenter." ✦ Seider, Notre Dame's first-year running backs coach, doesn't want to restrict the talent of star junior running back Jeremiyah Love. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER Ja'Juan Seider's Approach To Coaching His Star Tyler James has been covering Notre Dame athletics since 2011. He can be reached on X @ TJamesND FIRST AND LAST TYLER JAMES