SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Junior running back Jeremiyah Love has been named the recipient of the 2025 Disney Spirit Award. This prestigious award is presented annually to college football’s most inspirational figure.
Love is Notre Dame’s first-ever recipient of the Disney Spirit Award.
Love has delivered a remarkable season on the field as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Player of the Year, the Doak Walker Award and the Pony Express Award.
His ability to astound, connect and inspire has made him one of the most special college football players in the country. Not only has he wowed audiences with his play, he has played an active role in his community and inspired people across the country with his story.
Love hopes to inspire others not just by his play, but by encouraging others to be wholly themselves, to embrace what makes them unique and do things their way.
From a young age, this confidence was instilled in him by his family. Jeremiyah has continued that confidence throughout his life. Growing up, he enjoyed doing things on his own and was very adventurous. When he started school he operated differently. He had specific desires for his possessions and his organization. His parents worked with him to find what was best for him, and sports were found to be a great motivator for him. His confidence, and his competitiveness, was what propelled him to succeed.
His parents spoke with Jeremiyah’s doctor, who advised that while Love exhibited tendencies that could be considered to be “on the spectrum,” Jeremiyah should continue to operate as himself, with his parents’ support. It was important to not change Jeremiyah, but let Jeremiyah change the world.
To this day, Jeremiyah is fully comfortable in being exactly who he is, and his talent on the field combined with his personality, his competitiveness, and his outstanding talent have taken the college football world by storm.
Since the airing of Jeremiyah’s story on ESPN College Gameday, he has received countless messages of thanks and noting how he has inspired children and adults to pursue being their authentic selves.
Love has made it important to connect with the community and fans, especially kids. This past summer, he put on a camp for more than 200 local children in the South Bend area. He has also hosted a financial literacy workshop for high school students in the South Bend area through a local partnership.
He has also helped develop a comic book based off of his life and personality, entitled Jeremonstar, able to express his love of comics with creativity and a desire to share the messages of perseverance and embracing one’s unique talents.
On the field, his season was outstanding. This season, Love posted 199 rushes for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns, adding 27 receptions for 280 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 6.9 yards per rush on the season. Even more impressive, he did it all while sharing a backfield with fellow running back Jadarian Price, who himself totaled 113 rushes for 674 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Six FBS players rushed for 1,300 yards during the 2025 regular season. Love is the only player on that list who shares the backfield with another running back who has also rushed for at least 600 yards this season.
At the end of the regular season, Love continued to rank as one of the most outstanding players in college football, ranking second nationally in scoring (10.5), second in total points (126), second in total touchdowns (21) third in rushing touchdowns (18), fourth in rushing yards (1,372), fifth in rushing yards per game (114.3), fifth in yards per carry (6.89) and fifth in all-purpose yards (137.67).