Stanford football star Bryce Love has officially called it a career. The former Heisman Trophy runner-up was hampered by injuries during the 2018 season and now he has decided to skip the Cardinal’s appearance in the Hyundai Sun Bowl against the Pittsburgh Panthers in order to prepare for the 2019 NFL Draft.
Love becomes just the latest star player to skip out on his team’s bowl game in order to remain healthy, according to the Associated Press.
This season, Love rushed for just 739 yards and six touchdowns on 166 carries. That is a significant drop in production from his 2017 campaign which included 263 carries for 2,118 yards and 19 touchdowns. That performance earned him an invitation to New York City for the Heisman Trophy presentation.
But while Love will not be suited up for the Sun Bowl, you can guarantee he will be there rooting on his teammates.
The Sun Bowl takes place Monday, December 31.
The 2019 NFL Draft will be held April 25-27.
In recent years, the NFL has strayed from tradition and moved the draft out of New York City, where it had been held for years.
In 2015, the NFL Draft moved to Chicago, Illinois which marked the first time since 1965 that the draft was held outside of New York City. It was held at Auditorium Theatre in Grant Part which marked the first draft to feature an outdoor component. The draft returned to Chicago in 2016 after the great reception a year prior. In 2017, the draft shifted to Philadelphia where it was held on the iconic Rocky Steps outside of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It was the most attended draft in NFL history with more than 250,000 fans.
Then, in 2018, the draft was held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and it marked more NFL first’s. It was the first time in history that the draft was held in the state of Texas, while also being the first draft to take place in an NFL stadium.