Draft season has a way of reducing great players to a single number, and for Jeremiyah Love that number is the 40-yard dash. The Notre Dame running back has spent two seasons making the biggest stages in college football look small, and the stopwatch has only added to the legend. When reports of his 40 time emerged from testing, they confirmed what defenders already knew: Love is one of the fastest players in his draft class. This article breaks down the reported figures, what they mean for his game, and why raw speed only tells part of his story.
Love's reported 40 time, clocked in the mid-4.3-second range during pre-draft testing, places him squarely among the fastest running backs to enter the NFL in recent years. The number matters because it matches the film. Against Indiana in the 2024 College Football Playoff, Love took a handoff and ran 98 yards untouched for a touchdown that stood as the longest scoring run in CFP history — a play that was equal parts vision and pure top-end speed. That same burst shows up between the tackles, where his first three steps create separation before defenders can react. For offensive coordinators, a back who can threaten the edge at 4.3 speed forces safeties to play deeper, opens up the passing game underneath, and turns routine draws into house calls.
Speed alone, of course, is only half of the evaluation. Love pairs that acceleration with the physicality that defined his junior season at Notre Dame, where he carried the load as the engine of one of college football's most complete offences. He topped 1,000 rushing yards, scored more than 20 touchdowns, and helped the Fighting Irish reach the national championship game, proving he can absorb contact between the 20s while still pulling away in the open field. His receiving work adds another layer, making him a genuine three-down threat at a position where specialists are increasingly the norm.
There will always be arguments about hand-timed versus laser-timed figures, but the tape does not lie. Jeremiyah Love's 40 time puts him in elite company; his game film suggests he is more than a straight-line sprinter. If the speed holds up at the next level, he has the rare combination of burst, vision and durability to be a difference-maker from week one. For a draft class searching for a bell-cow back, Love has made the case that he is worth the wait.