NEW YORK — Generational comparisons are tricky, especially when it comes to sports. When trying to figure out exactly what encompasses the meaning of “best ever,” there tends to be a lot of “ifs” and “buts.”
That’s why a lot of people may not agree with me on this: Christian McCaffrey, now a sophomore star at Stanford, is the best high school football product that Colorado has ever seen.
Whoa, whoa whoa, some of you might say. It’s too early in his career to make such a bold statement. That may be the case, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not true.
Even without the Heisman Trophy.
McCaffrey finished second in Heisman voting, earning 1,539 votes to the 1,832 points received by Alabama’s Derrick Henry, who came away with the award.
Henry ran for 1,986 yards on 339 carries while McCaffrey ran for 1,847 on 319. They’re yards per carry were nearly identical. But McCaffrey amassed 3,496 all-purpose yards. Henry finished the year with 2,083.
But it was Henry walking away with the hardware.
But no matter. McCaffrey doesn’t need a Heisman to show just how special he is. This week, McCaffrey became just the fifth Colorado high school product to be named a Heisman finalist. And he should’ve won it. But as we found out this week, the East Coast and SEC bias is real.
That can’t take away what McCaffrey means to his team at Stanford, and to the history of Colorado high school football.
A little over 18 months after graduating from Valor Christian High School, McCaffrey owns the record for all-purpose yards in a single season. He took the 27-year-old record from Barry Sanders.
By the way, Sanders was awarded the Heisman Trophy for his efforts.
But, in his short time at the college level, McCaffrey has already reached heights that no other Colorado product has ascended to. He has a record that is arguably the toughest single-season mark to break.
He should be the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy next season.
At this point, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has to salivating at the many ways he could utilize McCaffrey.
“People at the next level look for talented football players,” McCaffrey said before Saturday’s ceremony.
That was certainly the case in high school, as well. McCaffrey initially balked at playing for the Cardinal because that’s where his parents went. He wanted to be his own. What helped McCaffrey get to Stanford was hearing what coach David Shaw had in store for him.
“The coaches talk and they talk to you about how they’re going use you coming out of high school,” McCaffrey said. “All you can do is listen.”
Well, listen then execute exactly what they had in mind.
McCaffrey has proven to be more than just a one-trick pony. He racked up 1,847 yards as runner, 540 yards as a receiver and 1,042 yards as a returner.
Even if you took away his returning yards, McCaffrey still totaled 304 more yards from scrimmage than Henry. He can do it all. But he does it for his team and never for himself. It was never his goal to win the Heisman, he wanted to win football games.
“That’s not something you think about when he’s talking to you,” McCaffrey said. “You really have to focus on each day. When you start thinking about getting here (to New York), you start to not focus on the team and the team aspects of the game.”
And that’s where his attention will turn. Stanford plays Iowa in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. The Heisman process is over and the season will go on. Which can only mean we get one more chance to see how truly special McCaffrey is on the football field.
