A Lot to Love About Bryce

Washington Football Team Running Back Bryce Love is poised to be a breakout player despite his rookie season being washed away.

Washington running back Bryce Love has seen a lot in his career. As a junior at Stanford, he reached the pinnacle of college football, to the tune of 2,118 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns. This monstrous feat placed him second in the 2017 Heisman trophy voting, and he was a unanimous first team All-American.

However, things took a turn his senior year. He elected to stay in college to complete his degree in Human Biology. He also wanted to avenge what he deemed was a “disappointing loss” in the Pac-12 Championship. Both of these things motivated Love to stay in California for another season. But the storybook ending didn’t work out the way he expected. He struggled to stay healthy in ‘18, and tore his ACL in his final game.

Due to this injury, he slipped to the fourth round in the 2019 NFL Draft, and missed all of last season. Now, he is almost fully healthy and looking to compete for heavy playing time as DC’s change-of-pace back.

On Thursday, Love met with local reporters via WashingtonFootball.com and shared his perspectives on the upcoming season.

Here are my takeaways.

He Learned a Lot His Rookie Season

Although he didn’t get the chance to play live football, Love viewed last year as a learning experience. He learned a lot about himself, and how to prepare like a pro. It was clear that he viewed Adrian Peterson and Chris Thompson highly, as he referenced them throughout his interview. In terms of Peterson, he talked about how “AP” does an excellent job with self-care. Love mentioned that he and Peterson would talk about techniques and tools to monitor your body, and how to keep your body fresh and pliable. In regard to Thompson, it was more of the social level, how to treat people right and respect the people you work with. Love felt that both of these players contributed to his growth last season.

He Seemed Comfortable in the Offense

When asked about his comfortability in the offense, Love shared that his transition to the NFL has been smooth. He tipped the cap to his coaches at Stanford, identifying Head Coach David Shaw, and Offensive Coordinator Mike Bloomgren for their preparation. He thanked the Stanford offense for its pro-style, and said he had been exposed to most of the concepts of this offense. Although the terminology was somewhat different, the general base of this offense is the same.

Love and Christian McCaffrey are Close

At Stanford, Love played behind one of the most dynamic playmakers in the NFL, Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey. This has benefited Love on many levels. For one, they share a common starting point, and offer similar skill sets. But more importantly, the Panthers’ offense has moved north to DC. So Mcaffrey now has some insider information on how to help his former college teammate.

Luckily for Bryce, the two keep in touch and talk football consistently. Love mentioned that he watches all of CMC’s games, and shoots him texts with questions. McCaffrey has answered with tips and nuances of Scott Turner’s offense. This should help Love as he tries to find a role this season.

He Feels Blessed to Be Playing Again

There’s an old saying, “You don’t know what you have, until it’s gone”, and it was very apparent that Love felt that he almost lost football. Throughout the interview he talked about it being a “blessing” to be back on the field, and that he plans on making the most out of his opportunities.

He talked about how thankful he was for Washington to take a chance on him. Now he wants to prove that they were justified in their decision. Love talked about being a receiving threat out of the backfield and being a versatile piece in this offense. It was clear that he sees himself heavily targeted out of the backfield as a receiver.

In Terms of Health, He’s Ready to Go

Many of the questions directed at Love were regarding his health. Which is understandable considering the severity of his injury, and the setbacks we have heard. Love is now becoming confident with his health, and shared that he began feeling close to a 100% back in February. He talked about really “opening his stride" in terms of sprinting, even back then, and felt that he is confident in his football shape.

In terms of taking his first hit? He didn’t seem scared. He was more anxious about getting out on the field for his first NFL game and feeling like he “made it”. Besides, he has been hitting hard in pass protection during camp, and he felt that has given him confidence to deal, and receive, a blow.

Still Has His Eye on Being a Doctor

Although Love wants a full and healthy football career, he still has his heart set on being a doctor someday. He talked about how that was a passion of his, and that the current state of the pandemic has made him introspective. At one point, Love wanted to shadow at the local children's hospital this summer, but obviously COVID-19 had other plans. Love is now focused on playing football, but his endgame is to pursue a job in the medical field.

George Carmi joined "Washington Football" on SI.com in April. He is also an editor/contributing writer to FullPressCoverage.com or @FPC_Redskins. He is a native of the DC metropolitan area and is an avid fan of DC Sports. A former journalism major at the University of Maryland, his focus is now in public education. His earliest memories consist of Darrell Green, "The Posse" and Super Bowl XXVI. Follow him on twitter @Gcarmi21