Christian McCaffrey’s run at the Heisman Trophy is not shocking but certainly unforeseen. The Stanford running back averaged touched 7.1 yards per carry, 14.8 yards per reception and 17.1 yards per punt return on limited touches as a freshman, but the former four-star recruit was far from a must-watch player in the Pac-12 entering 2015.
He is now the best all-around and most dangerous player in college football, having squashed Barry Sanders’ all-purpose yardage mark with 3,496 yards to earn a Heisman finalist spot. (Side note: The next closest FBS player had 2,410 yards.)
Prior to arriving at Stanford in 2014, McCaffrey, the son of former Denver Broncos receiver, Ed McCaffrey, terrorized youth and high school football opponents in the Denver suburbs, developing into one of the most sought-after prospects in the nation. It was, however, long before receiving dozens of scholarship offers, that he executed a legendary Terrell Owens-inspired Sharpie celebration at Mile High:
.@HeismanTrophy-hopeful @CMccaffrey5 has always looked SHARP! https://t.co/rnjo4elUS0
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 9, 2015
