Jeremiyah Love 'most likely' done at Notre Dame but left door cracked to come back

Jeremiyah Love probably isn’t trying to purposely tease Notre Dame nation, but he’s still done a decent job of it during his trip to New York City for the Heisman Trophy presentation.

Love was on SportsCenter with a Heisman backdrop behind him Saturday morning. He was asked, pretty plainly, by the hosts if his college career has come to a close.

He didn’t sound like someone who’s going back to South Bend in his response. But he also didn’t fully shut down the possibility of doing so.

“I’m most likely done,” he said. “I haven’t made an official announcement or anything like that. I’ve been discussing things with my family. We’ll be coming to a conclusion here pretty soon, within the next week or so. I got to do what’s best for me. I got to take care of a my family. Maybe there’s a small chance I continue playing collegiate ball, but we’ll discuss it with my family. Announcement’s coming soon.”

Love is a long shot to win the Heisman. He’s in NYC with quarterbacks Fernando Mendoza of Indiana, Julian Sayin of Ohio State and Diego Pavia of Vanderbilt. Mendoza, operator of the offense that belongs to the No. 1 team in the nation, is the runaway favorite to win the award.

Love, though, became the first Notre Dame player to ever win the Doak Walker Award, presented to the nation’s best running back, on Friday night. He ran 199 times for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns and had 27 catches for 280 yards and 3 more scores this season. His 21 total touchdowns set a new single-season Notre Dame record.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was a part of ESPN’s awards show Friday. With a wide smile, his last line after congratulating Love on winning the Doak Walker was “now I got to convince him to come back for one more year.”

Love explained there is no amount of convincing anyone could do to get him to return for his senior season, however. No amount of NIL cash would do the trick, either.

“I wouldn’t really say it’s anything other than me wanting to be with my brothers again,” Love said. “Money is everywhere. Money wouldn’t make me stay. It’s really just, I feel like, something has to click with me where I feel like I want to get a little bit more time with the guys. I want to spend more time with my people here at Notre Dame.

“I feel like it’s more of a personal thing. It’s not anything that anybody could do. It’s just how I feel about it and if I’m ready to make that next jump.”

Love is far and away the No. 1 running back prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft pool. If he chose to forego his final year of collegiate eligibility, he’d be a surefire first-round pick. If he stayed for one more season in South Bend, he’d go into the year as a Heisman favorite.

The 2025 Heisman Trophy ceremony will be televised on ABC tonight at 7 p.m. ET.