Illinois head coach Bret Bielema took the bait. There’s no mystery around the fact that former Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love was the target of tampering attempts before the 2025 season. But he didn’t reveal the name of the program, nor did his father. Yet following a latest tweet which mentioned that the RB’s father said Kirby Smart’s Georgia tampered with Love’s contract, Bielema made his frustration clear.

“Wish they had succeeded… because they came and got ours #famILLy,” wrote the Illini head coach on X this Tuesday.

While the tweet had a video featuring Love’s father, Jason Love, talking about his son’s tampering scenario, Bret Bielema might not have listened to the audio and replied based on whatever was written in the tweet. Despite that, the Illinois head coach’s accusation against Georgia related to the Illini losing their star RB to the Bulldogs ahead of the 2025 season.

After an outstanding 2024 season with 609 rushing yards and 10 TDs, Illinois’ leading rusher and Citrus Bowl MVP, Josh McCray, officially transferred to Georgia on April 20, 2025, entering the portal on April 15. Frustr the speed of this move, Bielema expressed frustration, noting that McCray was on a flight to Georgia within 12 hours of entering the portal.

“We did lose a guy to Georgia,” said Bielema last summer. “Somehow, he found his way to the portal, and 12 hours after being in the portal, he was on a flight to Georgia. I don’t know how that happened, but it’s crazy. Wish Josh all the best. He took advantage of that opportunity.”

That not only pushed Bielema to believe the Bulldogs stole their star RB through the transfer portal, but also publicly addressed on April 28 that Georgia had “tampered” with McCray after failing to secure Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love. It clearly shows the Illini head coach still reeling from that portal loss. But McCray’s reason for leaving was a more prominent “lead back” role and a significant NIL opportunity for his final year of eligibility.

Despite that, the former Illinois RB struggled to find success in the NFL and went undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft. On the flip side, no lucrative NIL offer could influence the former Irish RB, and he stayed with Notre Dame in the 2025 season. Following his junior season, the Arizona Cardinals selected him third overall in the 2026 NFL Draft.

But Jeremiyah Love didn’t confirm that Georgia tampered with him. So, what exactly did his father say? And was the tweet completely wrong?

Jeremiyah Love’s father’s take on tampering attempts

Although Hurricane Jay’s tweet mentioned, “Georgia tampered and made a lucrative offer to have him (Jeremiyah Love) transfer there,” the ex-Irish RB’s father didn’t reveal that the program was Kirby Smart’s Georgia. The part about a lucrative offer, however, was true, even though Jason Love revealed that his son turned down seven-figure NIL offers from that other program.

“In hindsight, I see all the benchmarks that led us to this place, to this position,” said Jason following his son’s draft selection. “So it was never we going to the NFL. When he chose to go to Notre Dame, he turned down, he turned down a lot of money. We turned down seven figures, bro. And he was like, ‘Hey, I’m going to get that. I’m going to earn it anyway.'”

Jeremiyah chose a backup role at Notre Dame over starting elsewhere for more money. The reason is very simple. He wanted to “keep the main thing the main thing,” focusing on performance rather than immediate financial gain. The former Notre Dame RB confirmed he was contacted via phone calls before the 2025 season, but he did not respond to these teams, saying, “You hit me, I’m not responding. I’m locked in with the Irish.”

That decision is now paying off for the ex-Notre Dame RB. After becoming a Heisman finalist and setting a school record with 13 consecutive games with a rushing TD, he is preparing for his rookie season with the Cardinals.