Bryce Love expects big things out of himself in 2018. Is he poised to win the Heisman Trophy and lead the Stanford Cardinal to the College Football Playoff?
Bryce Love is anything but your typical college running back. In his first full year as the Stanford Cardinal starting running back, he rushed for 2,118 yards and 19 touchdowns on 263 carries.
He won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back, finishing second to the Oklahoma Sooners’ Baker Mayfield for the 2017 Heisman Trophy. Not too bad for a guy who backed up Christian McCaffrey during his first two years in Palo Alto.
Stanford might have won the Pac-12 North for the second time in three years in 2017, but it was largely unfinished business that brought Love back to the Pac-12 for his senior season in 2018.
While most first-round running back talents would go pro as soon as they are the minimum of three years removed from high school, Love opted to come back to school. He wants to finish his undergraduate degree and do a ton more winning down on The Farm. Stanford’s Pac-12 rivals probably aren’t too thrilled about Love’s return to the gridiron this fall to say the least.
When asked about his decision to come back, Love said, “I was pretty confident in what I wanted to do, but at the end of the day, it was a tough decision and I’m happy with the decision I made.”
See, Love is only “seven or eight” credit hours and a few seminars away from completing his undergraduate degree in human biology. Once his football career comes to an end, Love has made it abundantly clear that he will pursue a career in medicine as a pediatrician. What other first-round running back talents in college football major in human biology at a school like Stanford? Exactly, and that’s what sets Love apart from the rest.
“I was pretty confident in what I wanted to do, but at the end of the day, it was a tough decision and I’m happy with the decision I made.” – Stanford Cardinal running back Bryce Love
His passion for pediatrics came about at a young age when he fell ill with pneumonia as a five or six-year-old. “I just remember feeling really, really sick and my mom taking care of me,” Love would divulge.
“After all the antibiotics, I just remember feeling better. In my mind, I remember my mom and the doctors being my heroes. They could help cure me. And that’s how I talk about my experience.”
While his experiences both on the football field and in the classroom have been overwhelmingly positive during his first three years at Stanford, “unmet team goals” were a major reason he decided to come back.
Love remembers fondly to winning the Pac-12 and the Rose Bowl during his freshman season in 2015. While he feels that each team is different, Love says, “there are maybe one or two similarities” between the 2015 Pac-12 Championship squad and the 2018 group that he headlines.
If there was one similarity that is most striking between these two Stanford teams, it might be the championship mindset they both seem to have. Love mentioned how “the success of the [2015] team brought back the standard of excellence” to Stanford football. Though he was only a freshman then, Love feels that the Cardinal are putting in the work to be that great once again in 2018.
So in what ways is Stanford making those strides, at least offensively, to be great in 2018? Sure, Love can, and is largely expected to, rush for over 2,000 yards again. However, he is looking to become a more versatile back as a senior in both pass protection and as a receiver out of the backfield.
Love is “focusing in on the little things in both of those areas.” Stanford head coach David Shaw has NFL coaching roots and it’s only fitting that he runs a pro-style offense in Palo Alto. Being sound in pass-protection is the quickest way for an NFL rookie running back to see the field. Don’t think for a second that Love isn’t aware of with that.
As for being a more complete receiver out of the backfield, perhaps he can learn from one of his boyhood idols LaDainian Tomlinson or his Cardinal running back predecessor McCaffrey? Like Love, Tomlinson rushed for over 2,000 yards as an All-American playing for the 2000 TCU Horned Frogs.
The comparison between Love and Tomlinson is a strong one. You get the ball in their hands and they will make defenses pay. Love mentioned in his article on Sports Illustrated that he used to flick the football out of his hands like Tomlinson did when celebrating a big play as a kid growing up in North Carolina. Tomlinson would end up as one of the greatest dual-threat running backs in NFL history alongside Marcus Allen and Marshall Faulk.
While Love has never had more than 15 receptions in a college season, it wasn’t like Tomlinson had a ton of grabs playing his college ball in Forth Worth either. However, catching passes out of the backfield would be a calling card in his Pro Football Hall of Fame career with the then San Diego Chargers.
Love’s former college teammate McCaffrey had a bit more success as a multi-threat playmaker in college. This has helped him considerably in his early NFL career with the Carolina Panthers. Frankly, McCaffrey was a better receiver than a runner as a rookie in Charlotte in 2017.
In the long run, yes, becoming a more complete back will only help Love in his budding pro career. However, it too will have a positive impact for Stanford football in 2018. Love believes that him being more of a factor in the receiving game will make things easier for second-year starting quarterback K.J. Costello.
“My mindset is to be the best teammate and the best player that I can be for the team” – Stanford Cardinal running back Bryce Love
Costello is an excellent player in his own right, but giving him an extra receiving weapon will only help make the Stanford offense more versatile.
In essence, Love’s rushing ability will open up more space for receivers to work with should opposing defenses stack the box to try to contain him in the ground game.
Should Costello and Love’s rapport in the passing game be strong, well, that will only open up more running lanes for Stanford’s Heisman hopeful to blast on through.
And blasting on through the big and powerful Stanford offensive line is exactly what Love plans to do this fall. Entering Friday’s revenge game versus the San Diego State Aztecs, Love stands 1,174 rushing yards behind former Stanford great Stepfan Taylor for most all-time in school history.
When asked how he would feel if he were to surpass Taylor’s career mark at Stanford, Love said “it would definitely be an amazing accomplishment.” Love, like everything else related to football, views that as more of a team feat than anything, but does respect what a great running back like Taylor did before him with the Cardinal.
With ample opportunities ahead of him, it seems that Love very much has his mind right heading into his final year at Stanford. To him, it’s about being a good teammate, playing winning football and prioritizing excellence in the classroom.
“My mindset is to be the best teammate and the best player that I can be for the team,” Love said. “I just want to win games, whatever it takes to win. Win in everything and win as much as you can.” Look for Love to win big, both on the field and in the classroom for Stanford in 2018.
No. 13 Stanford will host San Diego State for a 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT kickoff at Stanford Stadium on Friday, Aug. 31. FS1 will have the national telecast of the Cardinal’s home opener.