Stanford Football: Did Bryce Love make a mistake by returning in 2018?
Was the move to come back to the Stanford football program for his fourth year a mistake for star running back Bryce Love? We’ll find out soon enough.
Stanford football gets back their top talent for 2018, and also possibly the nation’s best player too, in rising senior running back Bryce Love. With a solid supporting cast coming back around him on the Stanford offense this year, there’s a lot of potential with the Cardinal in the Pac-12 North to make some serious noise.
Assuming Love stays healthy throughout the full season, College Football Playoff contention is a given. Not to mention what Stanford could do in a wide open Pac-12, outside of the Washington Huskies. If Stanford gets by the Huskies again in 2018, like they did last season, they’ll be good to go to compete for another Pac-12 Championship.
However, Love dealt with some serious injury concerns down the 2017 stretch, mainly lingering with his ankle. Does he have the durability to make it through a tough slate this time around? That’s the answer that players, fans, and NFL scouts alike are asking about Love come the fall.
Love wound up as the Heisman Trophy runner up in 2017, falling short of Oklahoma Sooners quarterback and projected early first round 2018 NFL Draft pick Baker Mayfield. Following a record breaking 2017, Love could have declared early for the NFL Draft.
However, in a somewhat shocking move Love decided to return to Palo Alto, Calif., for his final season of eligibility. If Love does have a healthy and productive 2018, he’ll easily be considered among the best running backs in the 2019 NFL Draft class.
The pure amount of risk that Love is placing on his body this year makes the move to come back to school a questionable one. Although, something to consider here is that Love made his decision behind academic ambitions more so than for football which is an admirable move.
Between offensive talent like quarterback K.J. Costello, wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, tight end Kaden Smith, and fellow running back Cameron Scarlett, Stanford had the resources in place to make up for the loss of Love. The fact that he’s returning makes an already loaded depth chart into a solidified top-15 squad.
Next: NFL Mock Draft 2018: First round post pro days, trades
It’s great that college football fans get to witness the treat of Love on the field each Saturday. He did have an opportunity to make the early jump to the NFL, before he put a ton of risk on another year in the college level.