Tampering has become the new normal in college football. In this NIL and transfer portal era, getting your favorite player isn’t that hard. From Miami’s move to take in quarterback Darian Mensah to Lane Kiffin’s NIL move to bring in top talent from his former team, Ole Miss, everyone wants to build a strong team. Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love is the latest to acknowledge that push.

“Yes, I did. I paid no attention to it, to be honest,” running back Jeremiyah Love said on ESPN’s’ This Is Football with Kevin Clark. “I was just with the Irish. You hit me up, I ain’t responding. I’m locked in with Notre Dame. I was locked in with Coach Free. I wasn’t paying attention to it for real. ”

This Missouri high school standout turned heads at Notre Dame and is now projected as a potential first-round pick. In high school, he earned the Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year and the Missouri Class 6 Offensive Player of the Year honors. He transitioned that success to the college level, too. After a quiet freshman season in South Bend, Love exploded in the last two years.

The value of Love is undeniable, especially after a breakout 2024 season where he posted 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns. He followed that up with an even more impressive 1,372 yards and 18 scores last year, cementing his place in program history and becoming the first Notre Dame player to win the Doak Walker Award.

However, despite the push, Notre Dame remained his only destination. Players like Carson Beck, Bryce Underwood, and Jackson Cantwell all made moves for millions, but Love didn’t. In this NIL era, where players are choosing money over development, Love’s loyalty to Marcus Freeman and the team shows that not all players chase a big bag.

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While Love didn’t name the specific programs trying to lure him, he made it pretty clear that the attention was extreme. A similar situation happened with Boise State’s star running back, Ashton Jeanty. In 2024, he took Boise State to the playoffs and finished as the Heisman Trophy runner-up. That kind of talent surely grabs eyes. The result? The top teams were after him.

“You know it’s going on in college football right now, and that’s really the only way for guys to know a school wants them or they have a secure spot,” Jeanty said on This Is Football.

The fear of losing top players to tampering is prompting coaches like Dabo Swinney to speak out. Dabo Swinney called for strict action against tampering after Ole Miss made direct contact with the Clemson linebacker, Luke Ferrelli. With tampering issues coming to light, it will be interesting to see whether the NCAA imposes strict rules against it.

For now, Jeremiyah Love has a major career advancement ahead of the NFL draft.

Jeremiyah Love’s major career update

Jeremiyah Love’s dominance last season earned him major recognition ahead of the 2026 season. Pro Football Focus graded Notre Dame’s star as the No. 1 running back in college football. Just two weeks after the season, Pro Football Focus confirmed what many already knew, naming Love the top running back in the nation.

Notre Dame’s 2024 season adds much more value to Love’s resume, as they ended the season as semifinalists of the college football playoffs. One of his best performances came against Virginia, where he rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Even in the 2025 season, he turned into a monster against USC, rushing for 228 yards with one touchdown on 24 carries.

By staying loyal to Notre Dame despite intense tampering efforts, Love bet on himself, a bet that paid off with a No. 1 ranking from PFF. Now, as the NFL draft looms, teams won’t have to tamper to get his attention; they’ll just have to call his name on draft night.