Jeremiyah Love, former Notre Dame star, was selected third overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL Draft. He is the highest pick for Notre Dame since 1993 and the highest-drafted running back since Saquon Barkley in 2018.
Key points
Jeremiyah Love selected third overall in NFL Draft
Drafted by Arizona Cardinals
Highest pick for Notre Dame since 1993
Highest-drafted running back since Saquon Barkley in 2018
Love aims to represent running backs and Notre Dame
Selected third overall Thursday night at the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, the electrifying running back became the highest pick for the Irish since quarterback Rick Mirer went second overall in 1993 to the Seattle Seahawks.
Love is the highest-drafted running back since the New York Giants took Saquon Barkley second overall out of Penn State in 2018.
āI feel honored to represent the running backs,ā Love said in a televised interview at the draft. āIām going to put on for them. Iām going to put on for all football players. Iām going to put on for Notre Dame. Iām going to put on for my family, and lastly, Iām going to put on for the Cardinals. Weāre going to do some special things together.ā
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said Loveās selection represented āa major sigh of reliefā for the young star after āan abnormal EKGā at the NFL Scouting Combine raised questions about a possible heart condition.
Further testing, including his prior scans at Notre Dame, assured teams there were āno additional issuesā with Loveās heart, according to Rapoport.
Coincidentally, Loveās touchdown celebration the past two seasons has featured him forming a heart shape with his hands.
The other top 10 selections from Notre Dame in the past three-plus decades were defensive lineman Bryant Young in 1994 (seventh overall), offensive tackle in 2016 (sixth); offensive guard (sixth), and offensive tackle (ninth) in 2018; and offensive tackle in 2024 (fifth).
Q&A
What pick was Jeremiyah Love selected in the NFL Draft?
Jeremiyah Love was selected third overall in the NFL Draft.
Which team drafted Jeremiyah Love?
Jeremiyah Love was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals.
How does Jeremiyah Love's draft position compare to past Notre Dame players?
He is the highest pick for Notre Dame since Rick Mirer was selected second overall in 1993.
Who was the last running back drafted higher than Jeremiyah Love?
The last running back drafted higher was Saquon Barkley, who was selected second overall in 2018.
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Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis had been the last Notre Dame running back selected in the first round. He went 10th to the Rams in 1993.
Greg Bell was a late first-round pick (26th overall) of the Buffalo Bills in 1984, and Vagas Ferguson went 25th overall to New England in 1980.
And now along comes Love, just the fourth first-round pick out of Notre Dame as a running back since the common draft era started in 1967.
According to spotrac.com, Loveās rookie contract should pay him in the range of $50.5 million over his first four seasons.
āThe versatility this guy has as a player,ā former Alabama coach turned ESPN analyst Nick Saban said during the pre-draft show. ā(Teams) can use him as a wideout, they can use him out of the backfield. Heās going to be a mismatch guy.ā
Saban, who tried to recruit Love for the Crimson Tide near the end of his coaching career, sees big things ahead for the Heisman Trophy finalist and Doak Walker Award winner.
āI think heās going to carry the ball and be able to run for very productive yards,ā Saban said. āI just think this guy is going to make a huge impact.ā
With the Cardinals, Love joins a struggling franchise that has made the playoffs once in the past 10 years, losing in the wildcard round in 2021. After going 3-14 last season, their fourth straight losing year, the Cardinals fired coach Jonathan Gannon and replaced him with former Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur.
With the Rams, LaFleur made good use of former Irish running back Kyren Williams, a fifth-round choice in 2022 who has surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in each of the past three seasons.
Like Williams, Love is a St. Louis product and a dangerous receiving threat out of the backfield. Williams made 102 receptions and scored eight receiving touchdowns in his three-year stint with LaFleur.
Older brother Matt LaFleur, the Green Bay Packersā coach since 2019, spent the 2014 season coaching quarterbacks at Notre Dame. Mike LaFleur spent three seasons (2010-12) as an offensive assistant at now-defunct St. Josephās College in Rensselaer, Ind.
Autry Denson, Notre Dameās all-time leading rusher, coached running backs for the Cardinals the past three seasons but was not retained in the latest turnover.
The Cardinals and Love also share St. Louis ties. From 1960-87, the franchise called St. Louis home after playing in Chicago from 1920-1959.
Former Ohio State running back Beanie Wells, picked 31st overall in 2009, was the last first-round pick at that position for the Cardinals. They took Thomas Jones, seventh overall out of Virginia in 2000, and Georgiaās Garrison Hearst, third overall in 1993.
Ottis Anderson, picked eighth overall out of Miami in 1979, was the only other running back the Cardinals took in Round 1 in the past half-century.
Wells was a college teammate of Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman.
A few months before taking Wells, the Cardinals made their only Super Bowl appearance, falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers despite the heroics of Hall of Fame receiver Larry Fitzgerald. His son Devin recently enrolled as a freshman wide receiver at Notre Dame.
Former Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd went 13th overall to the Cardinals in 2012. Just three other Irish products had gone in Round 1 to the Cardinals: quarterback George Izo in 1960 (second overall), guard Jerry Groom in 1951 (sixth), and tackle Bill Fischer in 1949 (10th).
A large contingent of Loveās family members made the trip to Acrisure Stadium, where his spin-move touchdown against Pittsburgh last November keyed an Irish runaway win.
āItās very special,ā Love said on ESPN. āMy dad (Jason) was the first person that believed in me. He had to sacrifice a lot to get me to this point, so I have to pay him back. I have to pay my family back, and Iām looking forward to getting to work in Arizona.ā
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
