Notre Dame will enter the 2025 college football season with one of the best running back duos in the country, led by Jeremiyah Love.
Love ran for 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, and he caught 28 passes for 237 yards and two receiving scores. Those numbers have set pretty high expectations for 2025 as the Fighting Irish look to return to the College Football Playoff national championship game.
In its latest 2026 NFL Mock Draft, ESPN projects the Chicago Bears to take the star Notre Dame running back at No. 17.
From ESPN: The Bears were rumored to be interested in Ashton Jeanty had he fallen to them in the 2025 draft, so perhaps 2026 is when they’ll get a running back. Love was one of the best running backs in the country last season as a sophomore, rushing for 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns. He is a bruising runner at 6-foot and 206 pounds but can also break off big plays — see his 98-yard TD against Indiana in the first round of the playoffs — and shake tacklers in space. That, plus his receiving skills, makes him the perfect feature back for new coach Ben Johnson’s offense.
The Fighting Irish open the 2025 regular season at Miami on Sunday, August 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Hard Rock Stadium (ABC). It will mark the 28th meeting between the two programs, with the Fighting Irish owning a record of 18-8-1 in the all-time series against the Hurricanes.
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: ESPN projects Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love to get drafted by Chicago Bears
Reporting by Dave Miller, Fighting Irish Wire / Fighting Irish Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
