Notre Dame head athletic trainer sheds light on Jeremiyah Love's knee injury

Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love suffered a knee injury in the final game of the regular season. However, that did not keep him from participating in the Fighting Irish's College Football Playoff run, and they qualified for the national championship game.

On Thursday, Notre Dame Head Athletic Trainer Rob Hunt spoke with the media about Love's injury.

“It was never considered surgical. It was an injury that certainly the timing of it was frustrating. I think had he not had the little pick at it during the Georgia game (in the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal), it probably would have been less … emotion attached to it. We had some time there as well, which was in our favor.”

Luckily for the Fighting Irish, there was a long gap between the game against the Trojans where Love suffered the injury and their first game in the playoffs against the Indiana Hoosiers. Otherwise, Love wouldn't have been able to play.

However, he did participate and his contribution was an important part of Notre Dame's playoff run. This included a 98-yard rushing touchdown in only his second touch of the game against the Hoosiers. He did this still with the injury to his knee. Hunt spoke about the challenges Love underwent to play while his knee was recovering.

“You still have to get the reps and the work in to be able to do that, and that was the balance of the challenge of getting him enough work to be able to go through it," Hunt said. "And then being able to tolerate it — being able to tolerate the less-than-optimal condition of how you feel and still perform at the highest level against outstanding competition.”

How did Jeremiyah Love fare in the CFP?

During the playoff run, Love recorded 176 rushing yards from 29 attempts. He scored two rushing touchdowns, including a 98-yard run.

He was also a target for quarterback Riley Leonard, with Love catching six passes for 41 yards. Considering he had an injured knee at the time, this is impressive.

However, looking at his numbers throughout the season, his injury's impact on his production is clear. During the playoffs, Love recorded an average of 2.8 yards per run, which is lower than his average of 6.9 yards per run during the regular season.