Notre Dame football's Jeremiyah Love earns Heisman Trophy finalist nod
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SOUTH BEND —Notre Dame football star Jeremiyah Love is headed to New York City.
The record-setting junior running back from St. Louis earned the nod Monday evening along with three top quarterbacks: Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia.
They will participate in Heisman-related activities on Friday in the Big Apple, followed by Saturday night’s announcement on ESPN.
Love is the first Irish player to earn that distinction since linebacker Manti Te’o in 2012. Wide receiver Tim Brown was the seventh and most recent Notre Dame winner of the Heisman in 1987.
No running back has won the Heisman since Alabama’s Derrick Henry in 2015. That continued an oddity in which every year that ended with a “5” has seen a running back claim the award for the nation’s outstanding college football player.
USC’s Reggie Bush won the Heisman in 2005. Before him it was Ohio State’s Eddie George (1995), Auburn’s Bo Jackson (1985), Ohio State’s Archie Griffin (1975), USC’s Mike Garrett (1965), Ohio State’s Howard “Hopalong” Cassady (1955), Army’s Felix “Doc” Blanchard (1945) and inaugural winner Jay Berwanger (1935) of the University of Chicago.
Love is also a finalist for the Maxwell Award (top player) and Walter Camp Player of the Year as well as the Doak Walker Award, which goes to the nation’s top running back.
With his 21st touchdown of the season in the finale at Stanford, Love broke Jerome Bettis’ 34-year-old program record. Love’s 1,372 rushing yards rank fourth in the country and his 18 rushing touchdowns rank third.
His 6.89-yard per-carry average leads all players with at least 1,050 rushing yards this year.
A threat as a receiver as well, Love has 27 catches for 280 yards and three scores.
Notre Dame’s Heisman winners before Brown were quarterback John Huarte (1964), quarterback Paul Hornung (1956), halfback John Lattner (1953), end Leon Hart (1949), quarterback John Lujack (1947) and quarterback Angelo Bertelli (1943).
Irish players have finished in the top five of Heisman voting 26 times in the award’s history.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football RB Jeremiyah Love makes cut as Heisman finalist
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