Detraiter Love Talks Julian, Michael And Notre Dame Football.

Notre Dame football is a brotherly Love.

https://twitter.com/BOOMfootball/status/779815454688833536

Julian Love was thrust into action last year due to poor overall depth in Notre Dame’s secondary. He played admirably on his way to being named as a Freshman All-American.

What some aren’t aware of is that Julian has a very talented younger brother, Michael, who is making his way through the ranks at Nazareth Academy. I reached out to their father, Detraiter Love, yesterday to get his thoughts on his boys.

First, Detraiter spoke to me about Julian’s commitment to Notre Dame and how it has evolved.

“I think that once he committed, a lot of people backed off because he was so committed. He was going to Notre Dame no matter what, once they offered. It worked out, he’s happy, he loves Notre Dame. he loves playing for them and he loves the game.”

Mr. Love decided early on in his kids lives that he wanted them all to be involved in sports. He explained how Julian got his start in football, and it wasn’t exactly typical, but interesting and important, nonetheless.

“When they were younger, I put all my kids through sports. The only reason Julian played was because my daughter played. When my daughter stopped playing football, because she started a Big Sister plan, then Julian played.”

He spoke to me about how Julian has always caught on to things quickly, which was evident in the way he caught on to Notre Dame’s defense in 2016. It sounds like Michael shares this impressive accelerated learning trait.

“He caught on so fast that the second year playing flag football, he was a superstar on the field. So, he had a very good youth career. Michael, same thing. Michael played basketball, football, baseball and, again, had a very good youth career.”

https://twitter.com/BOOMfootball/status/844021662152646656

Detraiter then took some time to explain to me about Michael’s progress and performance on the football field.

“When (Michael) got to high school, I told him it’s time to put that stuff behind you and start the next chapter,” explained Detraiter. “They’ve done very well. Michael is a student of the game. When I say he’s a super athlete, he may be a better overall athlete than Julian.”

“He plays running back, he plays wide receiver, and he plays corner, kick off return, punt return. But he also plays basketball. He’s the point guard. He also runs track. We’re excited. He’s starting to really hit his stride now. We’re very proud of him,” expressed Detraiter Love.

I asked Love if we could expect to see Michael progress the same way that Julian did during his upperclassmen years at Nazareth Academy.

“Yes, if you take out the age difference, of course, Julian has more strength, they are identical as athletes. They play the same,” he mentioned. “Michael plays the wide receiver position a lot better. Michael has great hands, his hands are bigger than mine, believe it or not, and he catches everything,” he added.

“He plays for midwest Boom, the 7 on 7, number 1 in the nation, and Michael is the only sophomore on their top team,” he explained. “He’s doing very well. We went to a tournament in Detroit last weekend and he led the team in touchdowns. He had 11 touchdowns in 6 games.”

Although his sons share a lot of athletic similarities, he did mention one difference between the two brothers.

“If you could say one thing that he does better than Julian, that’s catch. He catches everything. He has super soft hands.”

I asked Detraiter which position he feels Michael projects to play at the college level.

“To me, it’s up in the air and this is just a dad talking. Michael has great hands, quick speed, runs great routes but Michael’s 5’9 right now. If Michael hits the Love family growth, he’ll probably end up being 6 feet to 6’2 when he’s done. However, he needs to prepare to be a DB,” said Love.

“I did the same thing with Julian. Julian was an outstanding offensive player. As an 8, 9th grade player, I said “that’s great, but let’s prepare to be a DB.” I put him in camps and technique training as a DB,” explained Detraiter.

“Michael is fairly similar (to Julian). Michael plays DB for his high school as a sophomore. He started at slot and at DB. I’ll tell you, I don’t think there was one long-ball thrown on him and then every time he had to finish a tackle, he’d finish a tackle,” explained Love.

https://twitter.com/7on7s/status/843537611503362048

Detraiter explained to me that he is very much looking forward to seeing how Michael will perform during his junior year at Nazareth Academy.

“It’s going to be an interesting year. I think his junior year is going to be the year to decide whether he needs to go offense or he needs to go defense, but right now, even though he prefers offense like most kids do, I think he’ll be eventually more suited to play DB with his speed and strength,” stated Love.

“He has a 33″ or 34″ verticle so I think with his skill set, he may migrate over to defense,” added Love.

Detraiter explained to me that Michael played very well on the defensive side of the ball in 2016. He encountered a soon-to-be Notre Dame freshman during league play.

“He did best, to me, at DB. He had to guard Cole Kmet, the tight end that’s at Notre Dame. They tried to throw a couple of quick hitches to him and Michael stopped him in his tracks. They threw a 3 yard out to Kmet and Michael stopped him in his spot,” mentioned Detraiter Love.

“Even Cole Kmet complimented him on how he played,” he added.

I asked Love if he believes Michael shares the deep passion for Notre Dame that his older brother has.

“Yes, absolutely. In fact, in the tournament last week, he was wearing his Notre Dame gear. I took those guys to ND games when they were younger because I’m a Notre Dame fan. I’ve been a Notre Dame fan a long time. It was an honor to introduce these guys to football by watching Notre Dame football. They both love it,” he explained.

Next, Love spoke to me about Michael’s Midwest Boom teammate Greg Newsome, who visited Notre Dame this past weekend.

“Greg Newsome is, to me, unbelievable. He’s a really good corner, he’s very physical, he can play safety, he loves coming downhill,” he gushed. “I was hoping I’d get an announcement or something saying that Notre Dame offered him at safety because he’s a really, really good player.”

“I love Greg Newsome. I think he’s a great fit for the Notre Dame system. You talk about a great fit for Notre Dame, he’s definitely one. He’s amazing. He helps the young kids out too which is always a good sign,” explained Detraiter.

https://twitter.com/finao_greg5/status/846440315821150208

Detraiter then spoke about Notre Dame’s current cornerback situation and how he feels about cornerback coach, Todd Lyght.

“With Julian, Nick Watkins, Troy Pride, Donte Vaughn and Crawford, if he can get back to being as healthy as he was last year, they have a really good group. Julian is not the type of guys who cares about who’s starting and who’s playing. He just wants to win and contribute any way that he can.

“I think those guys have such a good chemistry with Todd Lyght, it makes that group even better. I’m excited about the corners this year,” added Love.

https://twitter.com/CoachFeliceNaz/status/839542204033089543

“He loves Todd Lyght. He’s a huge fan. He has a lot of respect for him. Every time he mentions Todd Lyght, he smiles and laughs. They love the guy,” Love explained.

Love spoke about how Julian and his co-cornerbacks are working together to achieve greatness in Mike Elko’s new scheme.

“That’s the thing, they come from different areas. They’re working for one goal and it started last year. I think the corner in the new defense is going to be a different look than what we’ve seen at Notre Dame, going into next year,” he said.

In closing, Love had one last thing to say about his son Julian. “Julian is a baller. He’s going to adapt, he’s going to learn and translate the playbook to the field. He understands the game. I see it in Michael, too. I see the same football IQ.”

https://twitter.com/savage7742/status/843637269898694656

"“Julian, between his sophomore and junior year, he really took off. I think Michael is doing the same thing. So, it’s going to be fun to watch and see him grow. I can see the similarities starting to happen now. I can see Michael catching just about anything thrown his way. They are progressing about the same,” said Love."