Jeremiyah Love Arizona Cardinals
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Arizona Cardinals rookie running back Jeremiyah Love didn't want to set personal expectations on the 2026 season and instead focus on the team.
Anytime a team selects a running back third overall, there are going to be massive expectations. That’s exactly how it is for Arizona Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love, who should end up being a key piece of the offense.
Despite that, Love isn’t focusing on his personal accolades this season. Instead, he’s doing what he can to focus on being a team player.
“I’ve learned throughout my time just playing football, the personal goals aren’t going to get you really where you want to get to. It’s all about the team at the end of the day,” Love said. “As long as you do your part on the team, usually you’ll get the personal accolades and the personal goals that you have in your mind. So, in my mind, my goal for myself is to jell really well with this team and do whatever coach [Mike] LaFleur wants me to do, and do it to the best of my ability.”
Of course, to get to this point, Love always has had individual success. That’s particularly true when he was in college at Notre Dame. However, he attributes that success more to his approach than anything else.
“That’s kind of how I’ve always been,” Love said. “Never really been the type to set, well I’ve always been the type to set goals for myself, but they’ve always been connected to the team in some type of way. Like last year, I wanted to win the Doak Walker Award in college, wanted to win the Heisman, but those things weren’t going to happen unless I did what I had to do for my team and play my role for the team. Both of them go hand in hand, so I kind of try to make everything team-oriented. At the end of the day, it’s a team sport. You can’t do anything by yourself, especially as a running back.”
Jeremiyah Love on What Excites Him About the Arizona Cardinals Offense
Jeremiyah Love Arizona Cardinals
GettyArizona Cardinals RB Jeremiyah Love at Mandatory Minicamp
It’s a new era of the Arizona Cardinals with Mike LaFleur at head coach. Along with that, the Cardinals are going to need to navigate learning a brand-new offense.
For Jeremiyah Love, the offense itself isn’t what’s exciting about playing at Arizona. Instead, he’s excited about the weapons around him with the Cardinals.
“All the pressure is not going to be on me,” Love said. “You’ve got guys like Marv(in Harrison Jr.), Trey (McBride). We’ve got a lot of guys in the running back room, as well, so split some carries if need be. You don’t need just one guy going out there and getting 30 carries a game. What do we got, 21 games this season potentially? So, that’s not going to do too good in the long run. But I just love being around guys that are great at football. A lot of professionals around, the NFL, it’s just great to be around, and I’m excited to showcase our skills together.”
Of course, it looks like Love will also be splitting carries in the Cardinals’ offense. James Conner is a returning veteran for Arizona. Then, Tyler Allgeier made his way over from the Atlanta Falcons, making for a crowded backfield.
Will Love’s College Numbers Translate to the Cardinals?
Jeremiyah Love Notre Dame
GettyJeremiyah Love playing for Notre Dame
While in college, Jeremiyah Love put up massive numbers for Notre Dame. In 41 career games, he rushed for 2,882 yards on 6.7 yards per carry and had 36 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 63 passes for 594 yards and 6 more touchdowns.
Cardinals fans are hoping this translates to NFL success almost immediately. However, Love remains tentative to set goals for his numbers, even though he would like to see that kind of success.
“As far as numbers, nothing’s ever easy,” Love said. “The way I think of it now is I’m going to have to earn every yard that I get, every touchdown I get. In college, both years I started, I scored 20-plus touchdowns per year. I haven’t seen what that looks like in the NFL. I think a lot of guys probably don’t score that many touchdowns, but that’s the standard that I’ve set for myself. Hopefully I can live up to that standard through hard work and dedication and discipline, but as far as the numbers I try to not to think about them or I try not to set specific numbers. I’m not making it too personal.”
Regardless, Love doesn’t want his personal goals to get in the way of the team. Instead, he wants to do his part and let the success follow.
“Like I said, everything’s about the team. If you make sure you’re doing your part on the team, those things will come, and the rewards will come and the accolades will come and the All-Pros will come. All that stuff will come as long as you are keeping everything team-oriented and you’re playing for your guys,” Love said.