Bryce Love to return for senior season at Stanford
— -- Heisman Trophy runner-up Bryce Love has decided to return to Stanford?for his senior season, his father, Christopher, confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday morning.
Love, a junior from Greensboro, North Carolina, didn't make his decision until late Monday night. The deadline for underclassmen to enter April's NFL draft was at midnight ET on Monday.
He finished second in Heisman Trophy voting this past season behind Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield. He won the Doak Walker Award as the top running back in the FBS and was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year after rushing 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, 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 runner-ups that 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.
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