Stanford Football: Bryce Love will regret skipping Sun Bowl for draft prep
On Monday, Stanford Cardinal running back Bryce Love announced he’d be skipping the Sun Bowl to prepare for the 2019 NFL Draft. Bad move, bro.
On Dec. 31, the Stanford Cardinal will take on the Pitt Panthers in the Sun Bowl — sans Bryce Love. After putting together a legendary career in Palo Alto, the star running back has turned his attention to the 2019 NFL Draft after an 8-4 campaign with the Cardinal.
Love made the announcement on Twitter:
"I will not be playing in our upcoming bowl game and will instead focus on being completely healthy and prepared for the 2019 NFL Draft… I am completely devoted to this next chapter of my career, and I will always keep the Stanford community, my family and my faith by my side throughout."
This has been a trend in recent years for some of the top pro prospects. However, in the case of Love, I believe he could use every opportunity available to elevate his stock possible. Skipping the Sun Bowl is essentially passing on that final chance to show NFL scouts that he can still be a dynamic, game-breaking talent.
Proponents of this decision will likely tell you that scouts saw all they needed to see during Love’s junior season. On the surface, that makes plenty of sense — in 2017, the Cardinal’s star runner amassed a school-record 2,118 rushing yards and found the end zone a whopping 19 times. However, his stock took a significant hit over the last few months.
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Throughout his first three seasons at Stanford, Love never averaged less than 7.1 yards per carry. In 2018, he’s averaged only 4.5 yards per carry, a huge step backwards that has watched him fall from a fringe first-round pick to a potential Day 3 selection.
So how does he think that playing less football is going to help him?
I know there’s the threat of injury, which all college football players must take into consideration. However, seeing as the excuse for Love was that he hasn’t been healthy this season, wouldn’t it be wise to put one final solid outing on film before taking his talents to the NFL?
The answer to that question should be a resounding “yes.” Based on Love’s announcement, it’s safe to assume he doesn’t agree with me. In the end, though, I believe he’ll end up regretting this decision.
It’s all about recency bias. The memory of Love that most sticks in folks’ minds is his disappointing senior season at Stanford. He came into the year as a Heisman favorite, and ended it as one of the most underwhelming playmakers in the nation. We all know what he’s capable of doing, but we didn’t see much of it in 2018.
Sure, Love will have the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine to wow NFL shotcallers with his natural tools. However, when April 25 finally arrives, I believe his lackluster senior season will cost him significant draft positioning (and money) on his rookie deal.
Playing in the Sun Bowl and putting on a show against a Pitt defense that’s giving up 184.1 rushing yards per game this season would have helped remind scouts of Love’s elite abilities.
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Instead, now they’ll just remember how he’s already being slowed by injury. Considering how quickly running backs wear down these days, investing more than a Day 3 draft pick in one who can’t stay healthy may be too risky a move.