Love’s Stanford career is finished
Bryce Love’s Stanford career is over.
The tailback who finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting last season, either has undergone or will undergo a procedure that will keep him out of the Sun Bowl, head coach David Shaw said Monday night.
Love rushed for a schoolrecord 2,118 yards last season. He ended up with 3,866 yards, 30 rushing touchdowns and a 6.8-yard average per carry for his career even though he was limited to 739 yards and six TDs this season.
Only Stepfan Taylor with 4,300 yards (2009-12), Darrin Nelson 4,169 (1977-78, 80-81) and Christian McCaffrey 3,922 (2014-16) had more yards in their Stanford careers.
Also among the missing for the game against Pittsburgh on Dec. 31 in El Paso, Texas, will be starting right guard Nate Herbig. The 6-foot-3, 334-pound junior is not hurt, Shaw said, leading to speculation that he’s going to declare for the NFL draft.
Asked about that possibility, Shaw said, “That’s not for me to say.”
Two years ago, McCaffrey decided to skip the Sun Bowl to prepare for the draft, a decision that drew criticism around the country from people who thought a player should put his team first.
Shaw wouldn’t comment on whether Love’s procedure is related to the ankle injury that has bothered him for most of
the last season and a half.
Cameron Scarlett will start against Pitt.
Two other starters — wide receiver Trent Irwin and left tackle Walker Little — are undergoing unspecified procedures that will cause them to miss the bowl. Irwin is tied with JJ Arcega-White for the most receptions (60) on the team.
Meanwhile, cornerback Alameen Murphy, defensive end Dylan Jackson and, most likely, guard Foster Sarell also will miss the game with injuries.
Tight end Kaden Smith, outside linebacker Casey Toohill and inside backer Mustafa Branch will be “game-week decisions,” Shaw said.
Shaw said the Cardinal haven’t experienced a rash of injuries as they have this year in his 12 years on the coaching staff, including four as offensive coordinator under Jim Harbaugh.
“I don’t believe in fate or bad luck,” he said. “I believe sometimes the pendulum swings. We’ve been one of the healthiest teams in college football for 10 years. Sometimes you have one of these years.
“These are not tweaks of hamstrings, etc. We’ve had ankles and shoulders and broken fingers and broken hands and backs. These are all contact issues that happen in this game. We just happen to have a bunch of them happen in one year.”
Irwin was hurt in the first quarter of the Cal game Dec. 1. He finished his career with 152 receptions for 1,738 yards and five touchdowns. He also has been a dependable punt-return man the past two years. Freshman Michael Wilson will start in his place.
Dylan Powell will start in Herbig’s place at right guard, and Devery Hamilton or Henry Hattis will replace Little at left tackle.
The injuries have affected the line’s bowl preparations, offensive line coach Kevin Carberry said. “What hurts is you can’t practice as much volume as you’d like.”
As for Herbig’s absence, he said, “It’s unfortunate, but we’ve got to move on. I’ve been pleased with how Dylan Powell played against Oregon State, UCLA and Cal. He’ll do a good job for us.”
Shaw was philosophical about all of the injury losses, even though bowl preparation is usually when teams get players back rather than lose more of them.
“What I love about this football team is our guys haven’t batted an eyelash,” he said. “Every chance a guy has had (as a result of an injury), he’s gone in and played well. Our guys know this is the season we’ve had, so we don’t miss a beat. Practices have been great, even without the guys we’d love to have for this game.”