Bryce Love to return for senior season at Stanford
Heisman Trophy runner-up Bryce Love has decided to return to Stanfordfor his senior season, he announced Tuesday.
"I will return to Stanford next season while continuing to earn my degree in human biology," said Love, who rushed for 2,118 yards, second most in the FBS, despite missing one game and playing most of the 2017 season with an injured ankle.
Love, a junior from Wake Forest, North Carolina, didn't make his decision until late Monday night, his father, Christopher, told ESPN early Tuesday. The deadline for underclassmen to enter April's NFL draft was at midnight ET on Monday.
Love finished second in Heisman Trophy voting this past season behind Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield. Love won the Doak Walker Award as the top running back in the FBS and was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year.
Love, rated as the No. 2 draft-eligible running back by ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr., will be looking to join Troy Davis as the only players in FBS history with multiple 2,000-yard-rushing seasons. Davis accomplished the feat in the 1995 and '96 seasons at Iowa State.
The last three Heisman Trophy runners-up who returned to school the following season all attended Stanford. Quarterback Andrew Luck (2010) and running back Christian McCaffrey (2015) also came back after finishing second in the Heisman balloting.
Love set FBS records with 13 runs of 50 yards or more and 8.1 yards per carry, which broke the previous record of 7.8 yards set by Nebraska's Mike Rozier in 1983.
The Cardinal, which finished 9-5 this past season, lost four underclassmen to the NFL draft: defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, tight end Dalton Schultz, safety Justin Reid and cornerback Quenton Meeks.
