Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love wins 2025 Doak Walker Award

Notre Dame junior Jeremiyah Love was named the 2025 recipient of the Doak Walker Award as college football’s top running back during Friday night’s Home Depot College Football Awards show on ESPN. Love beat out other Doak Walker finalists in Missouri‘s Ahmad Hardy and Ole Miss‘ Kewan Lacy.

Love is the first Notre Dame player to win the Doak Walker Award, which has a strong history of elite running backs. Love follows in the footsteps of last year’s winner, former Boise State star and Las Vegas Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty.

“It’s a great honor, being the first to do it,” Love said on ESPN. “I feel like there’s a lot of weight that comes with that. I’m setting the standard for running backs here at Notre Dame, and I’m just hoping the next guys that come after me can set a higher standard than I did. But it’s a huge honor to be the first to win the Doak Walker Award at Notre Dame.”

Love, who is also one of four finalists up for Saturday night’s Heisman Trophy, ranks third in the FBS with 18 rushing touchdowns and ranks fourth with 1,372 rushing yards while working alongside fellow Fighting Irish backfield mate Jadarian Price. Love was also a key factor in the pass game, racking up 280 yards on 27 receptions and three scores through the air this season.

Love entered the week with the third-best betting odds to win the 2025 Heisman Trophy at +15,000, making his a clear longshot to win it according to BetMGM. In addition, Love also earned a spot on the On3 2025 College Football All-America Team.

“His blend of strength, balance and acceleration makes Love the quintessential running back and one of the most electric players in college football,” On3’s Chris Low wrote. “Love rushed for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns and led all FBS players who had more than 160 rushing attempts (199) with an average of 6.89 yards per carry.”

Hardy ranks second in college football with 1,560 rushing yards on 241 carries, averaging an NCAA-leading 130 rushing yards per game, to go along with 16 rushing touchdowns this season while powering Mizzou’s SEC-leading rush offense.

Lacy powered Ole Miss’ potent offense with an SEC-leading 20 rushing touchdowns this season while tallying 1,279 rushing yards on 258 carries, averaging 106.6 rushing yards per game to rank second in the SEC, behind only Hardy.