Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love, Once Offered by Nick Saban, Opens Up on Turning Down Alabama
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love managed another stellar performance during the No. 9 Fighting Irish’s 49-10 win over the Navy Midshipmen in Week 11 of college football action. Love tallied 94 rushing yards on 13 carries, resulting in two touchdowns against Navy.
On Tuesday, Love’s stellar performances for Notre Dame this season were rewarded when he was named one of the 13 semifinalists for the prestigious Maxwell Award, which recognizes the college football player of the year.
Dive into Try out PFSN’s FREE college football playoff predictor, where you can simulate every 2025-26 NFL season game and see who wins the National Championship!
Jeremiyah Love Reveals Why He Turned Down Nick Saban’s Alabama
Coming out of Christian Brothers, Missouri, Love was a highly recruited four-star talent. He was the No. 4 running back and No. 59 overall prospect in the class of 2023, according to Rivals.com. He received offers from several elite programs, including Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide, before opting to commit to Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame.
During Wednesday’s segment of the “Triple Option” podcast, Love spoke about why he did not commit to the Crimson Tide under Saban (48:00).
“I liked Alabama. When I went there, I had a great visit,” Love said. “I liked all the coaches. I loved coach Saban, you know, I got to sit down with him and talk to him over some food. He was a great coach and a great person in general, too, from my first time meeting him.
“But, Alabama just wasn’t the place for me, even though they had a great coaching staff. The town was really cool, great place to be. It just wasn’t for me. Notre Dame was a better place for me.”
Since committing to Notre Dame, Love has found success in South Bend, helping to lead the spectacular Fighting Irish to the national championship game last season, where they lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Love Gets Heisman Trophy Buzz
Love has had an incredible season for the Fighting Irish and has gotten Heisman Trophy shouts due to his red-hot form, including 988 rushing yards on 154 carries, resulting in 13 touchdowns, while adding 254 receiving yards on 24 receptions, resulting in three touchdowns.
He is joint No. 1 in total touchdowns (16), and is No. 3 in yards from scrimmage (1,242) in the country, and according to the PFSN Running Back Impact score, Love is the No. 2 running back in college football.
During his weekly news conference before the Fighting Irish’s Week 12 clash against the No. 23 Pittsburgh Panthers, Freeman spoke about Love’s Heisman candidacy.
READ MORE: Heisman Trophy Rankings: 5 Players Who Strengthened Their Resume in Week 11
“It’s a great award, a huge honor,” Freeman said. “Somebody’s going to win it. But I think Jeremiyah Love will be the first to tell you that winning a game is way more important than that individual award.
“He’s going to do everything in his power to make sure that we’re prepared to win a game, and if the Heisman Trophy comes with it, then great. That’s amazing.”
To put into context the hill that Love will have to climb, only three running backs have won the Heisman Trophy this century, including USC Trojans’ Reggie Bush (2005) and Alabama Crimson Tide duo Mark Ingram (2009) and Derrick Henry (2015).
