When the McIntosh student section starts chanting 'Jay-5, Jay-5, Jay-5,' Julian Love already knows the ball is coming his way — and so does the defense, for all the good it does them.
The junior running back averaged 11 yards per carry against rival Starr's Mill, doing it at 5-foot-7 and 190 pounds in a sport that tends to reward size above almost everything else. Now in his third year on the varsity roster — he started as a freshman — Love has become one of the most recognizable players in McIntosh's program, wearing No. 5 and carrying expectations that go well beyond the field.
But the story Love tells about himself has little to do with yards or touchdowns. Ask him why he plays, and he goes somewhere else entirely.
Football is my getaway from a lot of things. Whenever I get upset, I know I can come to football and still be one of the guys.— Julian Love, McIntosh junior running back
He also frames the game in starker, more personal terms: football, he has said, is how he plans to feed his parents and siblings. That weight — carrying a family's hopes alongside a football — is something his mother Julia understands completely.
My mom is my biggest hero. She pushes me to be better every day.— Julian Love, McIntosh junior running back
Julia Love's approach to pushing her son is literal. She gets him up before most teenagers have set an alarm.
My mom makes me get up at 5 in the morning. Even when I want to go back to sleep.— Julian Love, McIntosh junior running back
For Julia, watching her son succeed brings its own complicated emotion — not just pride, but something closer to reassurance.
It makes me feel like I'm doing something good, because sometimes I do wonder if I'm doing anything right.— Julia Love, Julian's mother
His father's reaction is less verbal. Love describes watching his dad in the stands after a score: jumping, running alongside the play from the sideline. The family's energy in those moments is unmistakable.
Underpinning all of it is faith. Julia Love says she doesn't fear for her son's safety in a sport built on collisions.
I don't feel scared when he plays. I know he'll be okay because we have faith in God.— Julia Love, Julian's mother
All I know is that I got God.— Julian Love, McIntosh junior running back
Now an upperclassman in a locker room where he was once the youngest player, Love is conscious of what he wants to leave behind. He speaks about legacy — about younger teammates watching how he carries himself — with the kind of deliberateness that doesn't usually come from a 16- or 17-year-old.
He also has a message for anyone who feels like they're running behind.
Everyone starts somewhere, maybe ahead. No one is better than you — they just got there before you.— Julian Love, McIntosh junior running back
With at least one more season of high school football ahead, Love's junior year is shaping up as the moment when a promising freshman becomes something the program points to. The student section already has the chant ready.
Why it matters — Love's story is a window into how young athletes in Peachtree City carry family pressure and personal faith alongside their athletic ambitions — and what it looks like when a high school program becomes someone's foundation.
⚠ Not yet confirmed
- McIntosh defeated Tri-Cities 21-20 on Homecoming night with Love scoring multiple rushing touchdowns
- The profile, published October 9 in The Trail, McIntosh High School's student newspaper, coincided with the Chiefs' 21-20 Homecoming victory over Tri-Cities, in which Love scored multiple rushing touchdowns, according to the McIntosh football account on X.
- McIntosh defeated Tri-Cities 21-20 in a Homecoming game on October 9, 2026, with Love scoring multiple rushing touchdowns
Reported by mhstrail.org, maxpreps.com
Where this comes from
Written by Papalocal's AI from these outlets' reporting. It can miss or misread things; the outlets are the record.