Stanford will have an all-time great be the honorary captain for this weekend’s homecoming game against Wake Forest in Bryce Love. Love is one of the best running backs to ever come through the Cardinal program, rushing for 3,866 yards and 30 touchdowns during his illustrious career that spanned from 2015-2018.
Love committed to Stanford as a 4-star all-purpose running back out of Wake Forest High School in Wake Forest, North Carolina as part of the Cardinal’s 2015 recruiting class. He came in with a lot of promise, but had to wait his turn a bit as he played behind Christian McCaffrey for his first two years. Once McCaffrey left for the NFL after the 2016 season, Love became the feature back for the Cardinal in 2017, rushing for 2,118 yards and 19 touchdowns for an average of 8.1 yards per carry and 162.9 yards per game.
As a result of his amazing 2017 season, Love won the Lombardi Award, Doak Walker Award, and Jim Brown Trophy. The Lombardi Award is giving out to the college football player “who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL’s legendary coach Vince Lombardi.” The Doak Walker Award and Jim Brown Trophy honors the top running back in college football. Love was also named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, a Unanimous All-American, and First-Team All-Pac-12. As for the Heisman Trophy, Love was runner-up to Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Due to a knee injury, Love didn’t have nearly as strong of a senior season at Stanford, rushing for 739 yards and six touchdowns. His knee issues also caused his draft stock to a fall as he was selected in the 4th round of the 2019 NFL draft by the Washington Redskins after graduating with a degree in Human Biology. He only lasted a couple of seasons in the NFL as he was never able to fully recover from his knee injury.
Even though his pro career didn’t go the way he wanted, Bryce Love’s college career remains legendary. When he was at his peak, few ran the ball better than he did. He had incredible speed, agility, vision, and strength. Just his overall feel for the game was fantastic. If you are a young running back coming up, it would be a good use of your time to watch some Bryce Love highlights.
“The combination of Bryce’s vision and speed made him one of the most prolific running backs in college football history,” former Stanford teammate Dallas Lloyd said of Love. “However, one of the characteristics that I believe made him excellent was his strength. He had a powerful upper body and legs that couldn’t be stopped. I felt the wrath of his stiff arm in practice and remember thinking…it isn’t fair that someone so fast can also be so strong. I didn’t feel quite as bad once he did it to the rest of the country and had a historical Heisman runner-up year.”
While he is most known for his on the field performance, Love is even more impressive off the field. His winning personality rubbed off on his teammates and helped create a more positive locker room environment.
“When most people think of Bryce Love, they think of the big plays: The electrifying touchdowns, the blazing speed, the Heisman conversations,” Lloyd said. “The most impressive part about Bryce is who he is off the field. A smile that lights up the room, contagious positivity, and a calming presence. He’s that special type of person that makes everyone around him better.”
All around, Bryce Love certainly left his mark at Stanford. He had one of the greatest individual seasons in Cardinal history and touched the lives of all who got to play with him. It’s really neat that he’s getting a chance to return to The Farm five years out from his senior season and impart some wisdom to this new era of Cardinal football.
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