Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey wins AP player of the year

Christian McCaffrey finished in second place to Alabama Crimson Tide running back Derrick Henry in a narrow Heisman vote earlier this month, but he did add the honor of being named the Associated Press player of the year, becoming the first non-Heisman victor to do so in six years.

The Stanford standout received 29 of 60 votes from the AP Top 25 Media panel to edge the Alabama running back. Fellow Heisman finalist Deshaun Watson of Clemson came in third with 11 votes.

McCaffrey ran for 1,847 yards (second-most in the nation behind Henry) and eight TDs. He also played his best football in some of Stanford’s biggest games, rushing for a season-high 243 yards in a 56-35 win over UCLA, and shredding USC in the Pac-12 title game for 207 yards rushing and 105 yards receiving. To put the icing on the cake, he displayed his true value as Stanford’s Swiss Army Knife by throwing another two touchdown passes of his own.

McCaffrey sets the NCAA single-season record for all-purpose yards, breaking Barry Sanders’ 27-year-old record. “The answer is football player”, Stanford head football coach David Shaw told The AP.

Miami sent S Jamal Carter (team policy) and DT Courtel Jenkins (academics) home and said they will miss Saturday’s Sun Bowl vs. Washington State.