Bryce Love averaged 7.0 yards per carry last season. That’s really good and better than Christian McCaffrey’s 6.3 ypc. With McCaffrey gone, it’s worth wondering how well will Love fill his shoes. Could he be good enough to bring home the Heisman Trophy McCaffrey so rightfully deserved?
Love has had two chances as Stanford’s lead back, but now, he’ll have a full season worth of chances. When Love did start last year, he did not disappoint and ran for over one hundred yards versus Notre Dame and North Carolina. Even when Love backed up McCaffrey, he still made an impact on the field and earned PAC-12 honorable mention.
David Shaw will probably use Love as an all-purpose back. McCaffrey got into the national spotlight in the same role, and Love could do the same. Love will return kicks, take screen passes, and carry the ball. He’ll do everything and could lead the nation in all-purpose yards. However in order to contend for the Heisman, Love will need to be just as good as or better than McCaffrey was.
From a speed standpoint, Love clearly has the upper hand. He ran a 4.30 40 yard dash in high school, and McCaffrey ran a 4.48 40 at the combine. Once Love has broken free from the defense, he’ll be very hard to catch.
Love is also much more of a threat than McCaffrey in the open field. Take a look at these stats by Pro Football Focus:
McCaffrey had an incredible ability to elude defenders and change speed at a moment’s notice, but Love was even better at that last season and was even one of the best in the PAC-12. However, getting to the open field is a whole other challenge.
While at Stanford, McCaffrey was able to create second chance opportunities and break through the defensive line where as Bryce Love might struggle to get into the secondary. At 5’10” and 191 pounds, Love is smaller than McCaffrey and lacks the strength to plow through bigger players, so he’ll need to rely on a solid offensive line and playcalling to create space for him.
When McCaffrey finished second in the Heisman race, he had one of the best offensive lines leading the way for him. Joshua Garnett became a first round pick, Kyle Murphy joined the Packers, and Graham Shuler was a very good center. Meanwhile, Love will have a much more difficult time behind the current offensive line. In 2016, McCaffrey couldn’t replicate his 2015 season without a star studded line, and Love won’t have a chance to bring back the Heisman trophy unless the Cardinal dominate the line.
Ultimately, Love has a very slim chance to win the Heisman this year. Don’t get me wrong, Bryce Love is really good and will have a great season, but simply put, he doesn’t have a good enough line to be the nation’s best. The year after though might be a different story. With plentiful young talent, Stanford’s offensive line could return to utter domination in 2018 and could create the path for Bryce Love to run his way to New York City.
Comments
I Forgot That Bryce Will Only Be A True Junior This Year
Stanford is fortunate to have a quality back to follow McCaffrey who already has a whole lot of experience in the Stanford offense. My biggest concern would be durability given his size. Hopefully someone else will emerge to take a bit of the load off of Love.
Heisman? No way. If he is not being hyped now, no way to catch up. Next year? Who knows……….but if paired with a truly good QB, anything could happen. He will be running against stacked lines this year for a while for sure. He’ll get 1000+ yards on the ground by the end of the year though.
By hoyaparanoia on 08.12.17 10:05am
No chance
I don’t think anyone outside of stanford fans (or maybe outside the pac-12) will give bryce any heisman lovin’ (pun intended). I’m looking forward to him having a great season, i just don’t think he’ll be on anyone’s heisman radar.
Go Card!
By StanfordAA99 on 08.12.17 10:33am
Small Chance
Bryce is actually already on the radar given that he is one of the few players nationally with actual Heisman odds by Vegas.
In terms of size, per the Stanford roster McCaffrey was 6’0", 201 pounds in 2015 and Bryce is listed at 5’10", 196 pounds on Stanford’s 2017 roster. 2 inches shorter at 5 pounds lighter, Bryce actually is more compact with a BMI of 28.1 to 27.2 for McCaffrey. As a former powerlifter, compactness is often a better indicator or strength than just weight. In addition, Love is a lot stronger than many realize.
His chances hinge on the success of the team and whether he can remain healthy over the duration of the season.
By Remy74 on 08.12.17 11:23am
Heisman
Mark Ingram, Cam Newton and Lamar Jackson are recent Heisman winners that were NOT on the radar at the beginning of their respective "winning" seasons.
On the radar prior to the season has little to no impact on the outcome…..it’s what you do during the season.
By Remy74 on 08.12.17 11:25am
I agree...
But damn, if #5 didnt win it, i just don’t see how Bryce can. Bur i sure as heck hope he’s in the conversation at least!
By StanfordAA99 on 08.12.17 11:54am
Heisman formula: Dual threat QB with ridiculous stats or RB of playoff team
Unless stanford goes on an unbeaten or playoff run with an early loss, I would say bryce love winning Heisman is almost impossible. But if we are making another pac-12 championship run then surely he will get invited since our offense showcases a RB unlike no other. But I am not sure as stanford fans we can take another bridesmaid season
By layman on 08.12.17 3:47pm
Fear the Tree.
I can’t believe some of these statements about Love and "The H." Just let the kid get a season under his belt. I hope we beat N. Dumb. I hope we beat the 3 so-called Big 3 California Teams. I hope we stay healthy. I hope we take care of the home field. I hope our QB’s pick up their game, get the ball out to those talented receivers. I hope Shaw shows some things different the defenses aren’t expecting. This is my Christmas List.
By bodumb on 08.13.17 11:30am
My heart says yes...
… but my brain says no. If Gerhart, Luck and McCaffrey couldn’t win, Love doesn’t stand a chance
Regardless, he will be fun to watch!
By RickeySteals on 08.16.17 11:20pm