In 2024, Love finished with 1,125 rushing yards, 237 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns. Love would have put up even more impressive number if he hadn’t been slowed by a nagging knee injury over the last three games of the playoff run, which led to him to just 21 carries combined against Georgia, Penn State and Ohio State.

“I had an MCL sprain,” Love stated. “I think it was grade two. I didn’t need to get surgery. It wasn’t that serious.

Obviously, I played through it, so you can see it wasn’t that serious. Just a minor little MCL sprain. Something that isn’t major. Just had to get rehab and just work on it. That was it.”

It took about seven seconds of watching Notre Dame’s first spring practice to see Love was close to being his usual self. The twitchy, explosive movements were back, but Notre Dame won’t push Love this spring to be on the safe side.

“I was healthy after the season,” explained Love. “I just had to get in tune with my body. I was just sore.

My knee was cool. That didn’t take long to start feeling back to normal after the game. Ever since the game, I’ve just been fine-tuning my body. Trying to get some aches and pains out.

“I feel great. I practiced in practice a couple days ago. Practiced today. My body feels nice. It’s just getting those little aches and pains out that are still there from the season.”

Love will now get to focus on building a relationship with new running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider, who comes to Notre Dame from Penn State.

It’s clear after talking to Love and the other backs that Seider is pushing them mentally, and the room is already seeing the game from a different perspective.

“Having him in our room will help all of us get a deep understanding of defenses and what coverage they’re in,” Love said. “If you see the safety rotating over, that could be an indicator somebody is going to come down and blitz. He’ll help with our football knowledge, and he’s a great coach. He’s got great indy drills. Lots of good bag work.

Everybody has a solid foundation in the room, so he’s just going to build upon that. He just wants to increase our knowledge of everything.”

Seider has seen some quality running back play throughout the years, but it didn’t take long for Love to impress him.

“He’s got elite traits,” explained Seider. “He’s got elite speed. He’s got elite ball skills. He’s got elite short-area quickness. He’s got elite vision. So, use that recipe for success. You can never get enough of blocking.

They’re gonna block because I’m an ex-quarterback. You gotta protect that guy. For me to help him reach his goals and where he want to go, I got to find all his areas as a runner, as a blocker and a catcher. We also gotta play to his strengths.

“He’s one of the best guys I’ve ever seen run routes. The best thing that can happen to a running back is if a linebacker gotta go out there and cover him.

That’s a win that we have to win, and as coaches, we’ll do a good job of trying to create those matchups for the kid.”

The 2024 season was filled with highlights but also lessons learned for Love. Those moments have set a foundation for the St. Louis native to have a massive 2025.

“I think that shows how much love I have for my team,” Love said of what he learned during the playoff run. “No matter what, I just wanted to go out there and play for my guys and try to make plays when I could.

I didn’t care how I felt, whether my knee was hurting or if I was sick. I just wanted to go out there and play for my guys.

“I felt like my team kind of depended on me. I know we had other backs in the room, I know everybody brings a unique skill set to the field, but I felt like my team most definitely could have benefitted from my help. It just shows how tough we are.”