The Stanford Cardinal picked up their second 4-star running back of the 2015 class on Friday, gaining a commitment from Wake Forest (NC) all-purpose back Bryce Love.
What does the undersized (5-9, 180 lbs) Love bring to the table for Stanford? Here's Pacific Takes' Jamie Uyeyama with the report:
Let's get the size part out of the way first. It's the obvious question. There is no doubt that Love is not the biggest back for a team that runs out of the I-formation. Love runs a lot bigger than his size though. He fights for extra yards and frequently breaks arm tackles. He even broke out a nasty stiff arm at times. He also has shown himself to be a good inside runner.
Even though he has very good speed and can break off big runs, he's not doing it by constantly bouncing outside. He does a great job of reading blocks and taking what the defense gives him. He plays in a much different offensive scheme in his high school that isn't exactly close to what Stanford does, but the elements of him following a guard up through the hole and cutting off of that block is not that different than him cutting off the block of a fullback on an iso play. He also has great feet that really help in this area too. His lateral agility is very good.
Love is also very crafty as a receiver of the backfield, able to dip his shoulders down and through traffic to evade tacklers and turn short gains into big bursts. His frame will likely need some tuning in the weight room when it comes to taking punishment at the highest level of collegiate football, but his raw talent and skills are enough to keep those worries at bay for the time being.
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