Christian McCaffrey's bid for an encore couldn’t have gotten off to a better start.
McCaffrey fielded his first punt of Stanford's 2016 campaign against Kansas State at the 3-yard line amid a crowd of defenders -- a move that would ordinarily be considered a recipe for disaster.
But McCaffrey is no ordinary player. He spun and slipped out of certain doom, breaking eight tackles on his way to a 97-yard touchdown.
It was a prelude to what was certain to be a promising season for McCaffrey, who entered his junior season stronger, faster and more elusive and who was determined to build upon a sophomore season in which he broke Barry Sanders' NCAA single-season record for all-purpose yards.