Saturday is a special day for Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love, as he is one of the four finalists in New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.
While his collegiate career is likely over after Notre Dame missed the College Football Playoff, that didn’t stop reporters from asking Love about Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman amid ongoing rumors surrounding his future in South Bend.
Although Freeman has not personally signaled any intention to leave, there has been reported interest from NFL teams — particularly the New York Giants — and Love made sure to publicly endorse his head coach, saying Freeman would succeed anywhere, at any level.
“Coach [Freeman], I have all the trust in him to lead a team and also his ability to connect with players,” Love said. “I feel like a few years ago during the NFL level he’d still connect with players, but it’s a little bit different. Those are grown men who have families, they’re not college students, so he’d definitely still connect with them very well… but Coach Free would be a great head coach anywhere, on any level.”
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Freeman took over at Notre Dame after Brian Kelly departed for LSU and has continued to keep the Fighting Irish among the premier programs in college football, compiling a 43–12 record during his tenure.
However, Freeman and the rest of the Fighting Irish faced some backlash after recently deciding to opt out of their scheduled bowl game following their omission from the College Football Playoff.
That decision ultimately made Notre Dame’s regular-season finale win over Stanford — which capped off Love’s historic junior season — likely his final game in an Irish uniform, though he made it clear that a final decision on his future will come next week.
Love is the only non-quarterback among the Heisman finalists. This season, on 199 carries, he racked up 1,372 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns while sharing carries in the backfield. Last year as a sophomore, he recorded 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns, helping lead the Fighting Irish to the national championship game.
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