Notre Dame Football Spring Practice No. 4 offense observations: Will Jeremiyah Love play wide receiver?

As the 2025 Notre Dame football season looms closer, the spring practices have given fans, coaches, and analysts alike a chance to assess the development of players and the shifting dynamics of the team. Spring practice serves as a crucial period for determining positional depth, testing new strategies, and giving younger players opportunities to earn playing time. One of the most intriguing storylines to emerge from Notre Dame’s fourth spring practice is the potential shift in role for one of their most exciting young athletes: Jeremiyah Love. Known as a dynamic and explosive running back, Love’s potential move to wide receiver is a topic that has sparked widespread interest. This development has the potential to reshape Notre Dame’s offense and elevate their passing game to new heights.

In this comprehensive breakdown, we’ll take a closer look at Jeremiyah Love’s performance in spring practice, his versatility as a player, the rationale behind a possible move to wide receiver, and how his potential role change could impact Notre Dame’s offensive strategy. To understand how this shift could come to fruition and what it might mean for the Fighting Irish’s offensive attack, we must dive into Love’s background, the team’s needs, and the broader context of the Irish’s spring practice.

Who is Jeremiyah Love?

Before exploring the details of his potential position switch, it’s essential to recognize who Jeremiyah Love is and what makes him one of the most exciting young players on the Notre Dame roster. Love arrived at Notre Dame with high expectations after a highly successful high school career. Coming from the 2024 recruiting class, Love was considered one of the top running back prospects in the nation, bringing with him incredible athleticism, speed, and versatility.

Love was initially brought in to be a feature back, with expectations that he would contribute both as a runner and in the passing game. Standing at 6 feet tall and weighing around 190 pounds, Love’s blend of size, speed, and agility made him a natural fit as a running back, capable of breaking through tackles and making explosive plays. His high school highlights showcased his ability to change direction on a dime, accelerate quickly, and outrun defenders, traits that would serve him well in a power-back role at the college level.

However, it’s Love’s ability to contribute in multiple facets of the offense that sets him apart. His speed and ball-handling skills suggest that he could also thrive in other roles on the field, whether it’s catching passes out of the backfield, lining up as a wide receiver, or even contributing in special teams. This versatility has caught the attention of Notre Dame’s coaching staff, particularly as the team looks to strengthen their offensive schemes and maximize the talents of their playmakers.

Spring Practice Observations

Notre Dame’s spring practices have been a showcase for players to prove their mettle and earn a spot in the rotation, particularly as new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead looks to implement a more dynamic and explosive offense. A position change is always a possibility during this time, especially if a player’s skill set suggests they could thrive in a different role. This is exactly what has been happening with Jeremiyah Love.

In the early days of spring practice, Love has been seen participating in wide receiver drills alongside the regular wideouts. While it’s not uncommon for running backs to occasionally line up as slot receivers or take reps in passing situations, Love’s usage as a potential wide receiver has raised eyebrows. The rationale behind this is clear: Love is one of the most athletic players on the roster, with the kind of speed and agility that can give defensive coordinators nightmares.

During practice, Love has shown excellent route-running ability, displaying smooth footwork and the ability to separate from defenders in one-on-one drills. His natural pass-catching ability, honed from his time as a running back catching passes out of the backfield, has made him an intriguing option for the coaching staff to consider as a wide receiver. His hands have looked soft and reliable, and his burst off the line of scrimmage is something that stands out, especially considering that wide receivers typically need to be able to create separation from defensive backs with precision and speed.

Love’s potential move to wide receiver isn’t necessarily a permanent shift, but rather an exploration of his versatility and a way to take full advantage of his skills. It’s also an acknowledgment that Notre Dame has a deep backfield with several talented players competing for snaps, meaning that moving Love to another position could be a way to get him on the field more frequently while also addressing other needs on offense.

Why Move Love to Wide Receiver?

The most obvious reason for experimenting with Love at wide receiver is his incredible athleticism and versatility. The Fighting Irish offense has traditionally been built around a powerful running game, with a focus on ball control and physicality. However, Notre Dame has also made strides in becoming a more balanced offensive unit that can attack defenses both on the ground and through the air. With the emergence of several talented quarterbacks and wide receivers, there is now a clear need to diversify the passing game and find new ways to create mismatches for opposing defenses.

Love’s skill set makes him an ideal candidate for a move to wide receiver. As a running back, he already has excellent vision, footwork, and the ability to make defenders miss in tight spaces. These are all traits that translate well to the wide receiver position, where quickness, agility, and the ability to read defenses are essential. By moving Love to wide receiver, Notre Dame could take advantage of his speed and ability to stretch the field, something that would add a new dimension to the offense.

Additionally, Notre Dame’s wide receiver corps, while talented, has some question marks. With key players like Lorenzo Styles Jr. and Deion Colzie having up-and-down performances in recent seasons, there has been a lack of consistency and production from the wide receiver position. Experimenting with Love as a wide receiver allows the coaching staff to deepen the rotation and increase competition within the position group. This move could serve as a wake-up call for the current wide receivers, pushing them to step up their performance, knowing that Love could easily take on a larger role in the passing game if he continues to impress in the spring practices.

Another factor in the decision to move Love to wide receiver is his ability to exploit matchups. Love’s speed and agility could make him a dangerous weapon in the slot, where quickness and separation from defenders are paramount. He could be used in a variety of ways, including as a deep threat or as a quick outlet for short passes, making him a versatile player who can be deployed in different formations and offensive packages.

Love’s Fit Within the Notre Dame Offense

Notre Dame’s offense has seen significant changes in recent years, particularly with the addition of new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead. Known for his up-tempo, pass-heavy approach, Moorhead’s offensive philosophy requires a versatile set of skill players who can contribute in a variety of ways. Love’s ability to line up at both running back and wide receiver makes him a perfect fit for this style of offense, which is designed to create mismatches and keep defenses on their toes.

As a running back, Love already has a solid understanding of the team’s offensive playbook, so his transition to wide receiver would be relatively seamless. The Fighting Irish offense has relied heavily on multi-purpose players in recent years, and Love would fit into that mold perfectly. His ability to be effective both as a runner and a pass-catcher gives him the potential to be a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. In Moorhead’s offense, Love could see a mix of snaps at both running back and wide receiver, making him an even more dangerous player who can impact the game in multiple ways.

The ability to move Love around on the field gives Notre Dame’s offense flexibility in how they attack defenses. It could also allow for creative play calling, where Love could run jet sweeps, take quick screens, or be used in the backfield as a decoy while wide receivers run deeper routes. The versatility that Love brings to the table provides Moorhead with more options and allows the offense to remain unpredictable.

The Potential Impact of the Move

If Love continues to excel at wide receiver, the potential impact on the Notre Dame offense could be significant. Not only would it give the team a dangerous weapon in the passing game, but it would also help diversify the offensive playbook, making the Irish harder to defend. Love’s presence in the passing game could open up more opportunities for other players on the roster, particularly the other wide receivers and tight ends, who would benefit from the added attention Love would attract.

Additionally, Love’s shift to wide receiver could provide more depth and balance to the team’s offensive unit. With several talented running backs already on the roster, such as Audric Estime and Logan Diggs, moving Love to wide receiver ensures that Notre Dame can continue to operate with a strong running game while also adding more explosiveness to the passing attack.