The last time Jeremiyah Love was at Hard Rock Stadium, he was fighting through multiple Penn State defenders to help Notre Dame clinch a spot in the national championship game.
Nine months later, the Miami defense’s job will be to do what Penn State struggled to do: tackle Love and beat the Fighting Irish.
“(He is a) great running back, probably one of the best in the country,” UM safety Zechariah Poyser said. “But every day we’re doing tackling. Coach (Corey) Hetherman is big on tackling. We have to wrap this dude up, have to get him on the ground. So it’s going to be important to stop the run and stop him.”
Love is one of the nation’s premier running backs. The junior racked up 1,125 rushing yards and 17 scores last year as Notre Dame reached the national title game. Love had a 91.1 offensive grade from Pro Football Focus, which was fifth in the nation among running backs with 100 or more carries. It was the second-best grade among running backs returning this season.
Entering the 2025 campaign, Love has the second-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy among non-quarterbacks, according to FanDuel. Love trails only Ohio State star receiver — and Chaminade-Madonna alum — Jeremiah Smith. Love was picked as a preseason All-American by multiple outlets.
“He’s going to make the first guy miss,” Hetherman said. “He runs with power, but that backfield in general, I think, is very deep. When you watch, three or four guys from last year really stick out — how they play, how they catch the ball in open space, how they pick up blitzes. You know, how they set up their cuts, how they press the line of scrimmage. I think that’s a position that’s a huge strength.”
But Love is not the only potent running back on the roster. Junior Jadarian Price returns, as well, after rushing for 746 yards with seven scores last year.
“Their running backs do a lot out of the backfield,” Miami linebacker Wesley Bissainthe said. “They’re good, pretty downhill running backs (who can) make you miss. Just got to lock in on the details and just attack the game plan.”
Both running backs are aided by a strong Notre Dame offensive line that had the 18th-best run-blocking grade in the nation last season. Like the Hurricanes, their offensive line is full of veterans. The Fighting Irish return three of their main starting linemen from last year and bring back two more linemen who likely would have started had they not missed most of the season with injuries.
“They have a dominant O-line and two very dominant running backs,” UM defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor said. “But we’re just going go and follow all of the plan and just execute as best as possible.”
Mesidor said the defense has been working hard on tackling in camp, knowing it has a big test in Week 1.
“We do tackling drills every single practice, and then even throughout practice, Coach Hetherman is a monster when it comes to just emphasizing tackling,” Mesidor said. “He’s running to the ball every play with us. So tackling is a huge emphasis for us, and we’ve been working on it daily.”
