It's time to start paying attention to Christian McCaffrey. I know what you're thinking. How can you not pay attention to Christian McCaffrey? How can you watch a Stanford football game and not watch the most electric player on the field at all times? What I'm saying is that we should start paying attention in a historical sense.
The questions surrounding McCaffrey when he arrived on campus were about his size and strength, and the thought was that a redshirt season spent in the weight room and at the training table might do him some good. Last week, however, David Shaw revealed that McCaffrey's talent was evident to everyone, including his teammates. He explained that there was no way he could've held him out last season, or he might've had a revolt on his hands.
His limited role in the offense last season showcased his speed and elusiveness, but many wondered if he'd be able to develop into an every down back in the tradition of Toby Gerhart, Stepfan Taylor, and Tyler Gaffney. Could he be an effective runner between the tackles? Could he take the team on his shoulders in the fourth quarter? Five games into his second season on the Farm, all those questions have been answered. In fact, McCaffrey's season compares favorably to the greatest seasons of those three players, the three most productive running back seasons in school history.
|
|
Gerhart 2009 |
Gaffney 2013 |
Taylor 2012 |
McCaffrey |
|
Game 1 |
121 |
104 |
116 |
66 |
|
Game 2 |
82 |
132 |
69 |
58 |
|
Game 3 |
113 |
87 |
153 |
115 |
|
Game 4 |
200 |
54 |
75 |
206 |
|
Game 5 |
134 |
85 |
142 |
156 |
|
Game 6 |
96 |
108 |
102 |
|
|
Game 7 |
123 |
171 |
189 |
|
|
Game 8 |
125 |
145 |
58 |
|
|
Game 9 |
223 |
157 |
43 |
|
|
Game 10 |
178 |
158 |
114 |
|
|
Game 11 |
136 |
95 |
161 |
|
|
Game 12 |
205 |
189 |
142 |
|
|
Game 13 |
135 |
133 |
78 |
|
|
Game 14 |
|
91 |
88 |
|
|
YPG |
143.9 |
122.1 |
109.3 |
120.2 |
|
Total |
1871 |
1709 |
1530 |
601 |
It's foolish to make projections when there are at least seven more games remaining on the schedule, but it's worth noting that after just five games McCaffrey has already matched Remound Wright's team-leading rushing total from 2014, and he seems a near certainty to become Stanford's next thousand-yard back. Before he hit his stride against USC and notched the first of three straight hundred-yard games, the Cardinal had endured an unfathomable sixteen-game stretch without such a performance. If C-Mac can hit triple digits on Thursday night against UCLA, he'd extend his streak to four games, an accomplishment matched by just five players in Stanford history. And as for carrying his team, McCaffrey's 206 yards rushing against Oregon State was the fifth-highest single-game total in Stanford history.
But the greatness of young McCaffrey extends beyond his role as a running back. He's been a dangerous receiver, whether circling out of the backfield or lining up in the slot, and he's become such a weapon in the return game that teams have begun kicking away from him. Even so, he's racking up all-purpose yards at a record setting pace and reminding older fans of Glyn Milburn -- and not just because McCaffrey started wearing Milburn's #5 jersey this season.
|
|
Milburn 1992 |
Milburn 1990 |
Monty 2013 |
McCaffrey |
|
Rushing |
870 |
729 |
159 |
601 |
|
Receiving |
459 |
632 |
958 |
168 |
|
Punt Return |
589 |
267 |
0 |
22 |
|
Kick Return |
316 |
594 |
1091 |
358 |
|
APY/Game |
186.2 |
185.2 |
184.0 |
229.8 |
|
Total Yards |
2234 |
2222 |
2208 |
1149 |
McCaffrey's 229.8 all-purpose yards per game leads all Power 5 players and makes him a threat not only to shatter Milburn's Stanford record but also to challenge Marqise Lee's Pac-12 record of 2,683 yards set in 2012. Should he break records like that, people around the country will begin to realize what Stanford fans and Pac-12 coaches already know. Christian McCaffrey is one of the best college football players in America and a near lock to be Stanford's next Heisman runner-up.
