Breakout offensive star cracks top 10 of best Notre Dame players entering the 2024 season

There is so much excitement around Notre Dame football heading into the 2024 season. A big reason for that is the combination of coaching staff, and overall depth of talent, something that the Irish haven’t had at this level in some time. Along with that excitement over the overall depth of talent, fans are even more anxious to see some of the impending breakouts on this team.

One name that is mentioned often when you say the word breakout is sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love . He comes in at No. 7 of the top Notre Dame players heading into the 2024 season, which some will argue is way too high for such a limited sample size. Then you start doing your research on Love, and you begin to understand the massive hype.

Love was a massive get for the Irish in the 2023 recruiting class, beating out a long list of impressive schools for the St. Louis native. Teams like Oregon and Texas A&M tried to make things interesting down the stretch, opening the checkbook in a big way to try to lure Love away from the Irish. In the end, that effort was proven futile.

Related: The 2025 NFL Draft brings a lot of upside, but a ton of question marks concerning the offensive tackle class

Anyone who has gotten to know Love or his family understands why he fits so well in South Bend. Way beyond his ability as a football player, the talented runner is also an ultra creative young man who takes his academics seriously. Then when he gets on the football field, that creativity continues.

We saw glimpses of Love as a true freshman last fall, eventually asserting himself as the second option behind All-American running back Audric Estime. In limited opportunities, Love rushed for 385 yards and a touchdown, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. He also hauled in another eight receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown as a pass receiver.

Now set to be one of the top offensive players for Notre Dame in 2024, the thought of Love in a Mike Denbrock offense is exciting. The dynamic athlete has also continued to develop physically this offseason as well, now getting up to 206 pounds to help him handle more of the load in the run game. With that added size, on top of Love’s big play ability and all-around skill set, he has the chance to truly break out in the fall.

PLAYERS 16-20

PLAYERS 11-15

BREAKOUT IN THE SECONDARY

TRANSFER PASS RUSHER

BIG TIME SPEEDSTER