The Notre Dame Fighting Irish offense should look completely different this fall. New starting quarterback in Riley Leonard. Mike Denbrock (who called LSU's explosive offense in 2023) will be the third offensive coordinator since Marcus Freeman took over as head coach. Feature running back Audric Estime is gone. 50% of the receiving production from last year has graduated, transferred, or left early for the NFL. It's obvious that the Fighting Irish are going to need some new young breakout stars to impress in 2024.
The Blue-Gold game Saturday gave fans their first glimpse at who a couple of those young breakout star players might be. Second year running back Jeremiyah Love and true freshman early enrollee wide receiver Micah Gilbert look like absolutely special star players ready to break out this fall.
Electric Speed and Receiving Ability of Jeremiyah Love
Jeremiyah Love has been impressing all spring long. A couple weeks ago we talked about how special he and Jadarian Price could be for the Fighting Irish . That's going to be a special duo to watch. But with Price sitting on the sideline for the Blue-Gold spring game, Jeremiyah Love stepped up as the feature back, tallying 14 touches and targets on the day.
He was clearly the most explosive player on the entire team all game long, showcasing great skill as both a runner and receiver. Head coach Marcus Freeman clearly loves him some Love. In the post below you can see a handful of his plays from the Blue-Gold game and a special quote from Freeman himself.
"Lets keep getting the ball into Jeremiyah Love's hands and let him make some plays." - Marcus Freeman
Coach Marcus Freeman understands who his best offensive player is. It's Jeremiyah Love. He's been working with both the running backs and receivers this season to help improve his versatility. It's clearly paying off. Expect special things from Love this fall for Notre Dame.
Size, Speed, and Ball Skills of Micah Gilbert
The Fighting Irish receiver group was so desperate last year for stars that they relied on a lacrosse player (Jordan Faison) to give their offense some juice in critical moments. Not that Jordan Faison isn't special. He should actually contribute significantly this fall, but the need at wide receiver this year was still quite clear coming into the spring. Enter true freshman Micah Gilbert.
Gilbert started slow in the Blue-Gold game Saturday, but once he settled in he was the star of the show. You can see both of his touchdown catches in the post below. He was the only player who kept the gold team in the game at all, though they still lost 28-21.
He finished the day with five receptions, two scores, and almost hauled in a one-handed catch that would have been the play of the day too. Gilbert is the real deal. At 6'2", over 200 pounds, with speed, and ball skills to win in contested situations he is way more developed than your normal true freshman. Once the Fighting Irish get him on the field he'll show he's their best playmaker through the air.
Be looking for more Notre Dame Fighting Irish coverage here at A to Z Sports all year long! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
And if you want to watch some Micah Gilbert highlights to get an idea of the skill set he brings to Notre Dame just check out the video below!
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