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Notre Dame Football: Top-25 players of the Brian Kelly era

By Daniel Morrison

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - NOVEMBER 07: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish leads his team out of the tunnel before the game against the Clemson Tigers at Notre Dame Stadium on November 7, 2020 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Matt Cashore-Pool/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - NOVEMBER 07: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish leads his team out of the tunnel before the game against the Clemson Tigers at Notre Dame Stadium on November 7, 2020 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Matt Cashore-Pool/Getty Images) /
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Julian Love of the Notre Dame Football team.  (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Notre Dame Football: Top-25 players of the Brian Kelly era

22. Julian Love, DB, 2016-18

  • 176 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 5 INTs, 39 pass breakups, 4 fumble recoveries, 2 forced fumbles

When Julian Love was at Notre Dame, he was the best defensive back on the team, and the Irish defense would rely on him to lock down one side of the field, taking away their opponent’s top threat. His dominance led to being an All-American in 2018 and being drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the New York Giants.

Unfortunately, for many Notre Dame fans, one of the lasting memories of Julian Love’s time at Notre Dame came when he was off the field. Love went down with an injury in the 2018 Cotton Bowl against Clemson, missing the second quarter.

That’s when Clemson did most of their damage on offense, and they did it quickly to make the game a blowout. If he had been in the game, the Irish could have held onto momentum longer and kept the game closer.

This was a player who saw the field as a true freshman and dominated during his three seasons before declaring early, making his mark as one of the best defensive backs Brian Kelly has ever coached during his time at Notre Dame.

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