Stanford's Bryce Love not looking back after decision to return for senior year

STANFORD

It was never solely about the Sundays. Running back Bryce Love came to Stanford with more on his mind than fulfilling an NFL dream.

“It’s almost as if he wants to be an example and to be a role model and to be a positive influence in any way he can,” Bryce’s mother Angela Love said.

But then last season happened. Would-be tacklers could not slow Love - who tallied a staggering 20 runs of 50 yards or more (1,000 yards right there) - on his way to becoming the Heisman Trophy runner-up and a potential NFL draft pick.

Love, 21, had other ideas when returning to Stanford for his senior season. The Wake Forest, North Carolina native wanted to graduate with a degree in human biology and add to his college football feats.

He didn’t get a storybook ending. A nagging left ankle injury and a beat-up offensive line have done what defensive schemes could not do as Love’s rushing yardage has nosedived from the 2,118 yards he gained in 2017. The 8.1 yards-per-carry average has dipped to 4.8 for the 5-foot-10, 202-pounder.

As he has labored through his senior season, some wonder if Love should have turned pro after his junior year when his draft value appeared to peak.

None of those saying as much is named Bryce Love. Those who know him best say Love has not questioned the decision to return to graduate in 3? years despite the challenges on the field.

“Bryce does not think he made a wrong decision coming back and getting that degree,” brother Chris Love II said. “Sometimes you have to face some adversity and take a couple tests and see what you’re built like.”

Instead of running toward a big payday, Love returned to school because he eventually wants to practice medicine in underserved communities.

“The reality of sports is that it does all come to an end,” Love wrote in an essay for a summer class. “As much as I wish to play in the NFL, I am also passionate about becoming a pediatrician - something I’ve wanted since my doctor cured me of pneumonia when I was little.”

He took out an insurance policy that protects his professional earning potential in the case of injury or another event that decreases the value, Love wrote in the essay that was published by the Charlotte News and Observer.

None of this surprised parents Chris and Angela Love. They’ve seen their youngest son push himself to never settle for something less than his best to show others - particularly in the African-American community - that every goal is attainable.

Yes, Mom loves cheering every time Love runs for a big gain. But Angela Love is more thrilled knowing what kind of man he has become.

She can’t really explain it, other than saying, “He feels almost a sense of obligation” to help others. “It’s something that is internal in him.”

Despite the recognition last year, Love likely would have fallen to the second round, according to a handful of draft analysts. They said his size - not bruising by modern NFL standards - and questions about health after an ankle injury last season were factors in the assessment.

“He wouldn’t have gone in the first round unless someone completely fell in love with his speed,” said former NFL scout Dan Shonka.

As long as Love, 21, can show NFL scouts that he is healthy, as fast as ever and can catch a football, then he has a good chance of getting picked in the second or third round, the analysts agreed.

Love isn’t thinking about the draft quite yet. He wants to squeeze whatever he can into the final three games of his college career, hoping a breakout last weekend against Oregon State signals the Cardinal running game is back.

Although Love leads Stanford in rushing with 580 yards on 122 attempts, he has not carried the ball with the same magnetism as a year ago while running behind a line that was projected to be one of the country’s best until injuries depleted its ranks.

Last year, Love got football fans’ attention with a 162.9 yards-per-game average - not to mention his video-game moves that led to seven runs of 60 or more yards. The All-American won the Doak Walker and Lombardi awards and was the Pac-12’s offensive player of the year. He also broke a Cardinal single-game record when rushing for 301 yards on 25 carries against Arizona State.

Love looked like his old self Saturday, gaining 90 yards on 11 carries, but the skeptics will note that he did it against an Oregon State defense that ranks among the worst in the nation. Love ran for 136 yards against USC, but that was eight games ago, in the second game of the season.

After that, Love struggled with the ankle injury that forced him to miss two games. Stanford officials have not disclosed the type of injury Love suffered but coach David Shaw said his star is not “risking his draft status and he’s not risking long-term injury” by playing.

Bay Area foot and ankle specialists said treating running backs is difficult because of the movements required of them.

Until the Oregon State game, Love hadn’t been able to evade tacklers as easily this year because of the inability to make quick, lateral cuts.

But he never showed frustration. Love was so positive that “you will never know anything is wrong with him,” fellow running back Cameron Scarlett said. “I always feel for him just because there is so much that he wants to do, he wishes he could do even if his body is holding him back.”

Nothing has been lost in the eyes of father Chris Love.

“He saw things that he never saw before,” he said of his son’s progress. “What an athlete he has turned into.”

Love still has plenty of chances to show his draft value as the Cardinal ?(6-4, 4-3, Pac-12) finish the regular season Nov. 24 at UCLA, at Cal on Dec. 1, and then play in a bowl game.

Love took classes the past two summers in order to clear his schedule for the NFL auditions expected to come, including the Senior Bowl in January. His high school coach in Wake Forest has no doubt what the next step will be.

“Football is not going to end for Bryce at Stanford,” Reggie Lucas said.

At least that’s the immediate plan.