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2013-10-15 17:40:42
Tyler Gaffney ran the ball 20 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving). Not bad for someone who spent last season watching Stanford play on TV while he pursued a professional baseball career.
A former twosport athlete at Stanford, Gaffney had decided to give professional baseball a try earlier this year. The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted him in the 24th round last summer, and he batted .297 for the State College Spikes in ClassA ball, a promising start to his career.
But he itched to return to Stanford for his final year of eligibility and a chance to earn his degree, and Shaw obliged him. (The NCAA allows athletes to play professionally in one sport and maintain eligibility in another.)
"He got what a lot of us don't get, which is a year away from the game that we love and the chance to play it again," Shaw said. "He plays with such appreciation. He loves all the little things in practice. He never complains about anything long days, short days, he gets a chance to go out there."
Two years removed from Gaffney's 2011 season, in which he rushed for 449 yards at 6.1 yards per carry and a 117yard game against Washington, Gaffney was simply expected to add to Stanford's stable of running backs. Instead, Gaffney came back in great shape "he'd been lifting like a football player, not a baseball player," Shaw said and he emerged as Stanford's premier back. He rushed for over 100 yards in each of Stanford's two games so far this season.
"It's like riding a bike," Gaffney said.
Moving forward, Gaffney, 61 and 221 pounds, likely will play a key role in Stanford's offense, a unit that has emphasized a strong running game since former coach Jim Harbaugh arrived in Palo Alto in 2007. Anthony Wilkerson, who had four carries for 12 yards Saturday, was also singled out by Shaw after the game as a critical piece of the offensive game plan.
"Our backs run so hard," Shaw said. "They're big, physical guys who drag people. To be the team we want to be, to be a physical, between tackles running team, we need guys like that.
"Those two guys are our horses right now. ? We need them for our identity."
Shaw has called Stanford's depth at running back"an embarrassment of riches."
So, too, is this team, brimming with talent on both sides of the ball even considering some firsthalf struggles against an unfamiliar system it won't have to face again this season.
The scary part? Stanford isn't satisfied, despite starting the season 20.
"So far, so good, but we've left some points out there," Shaw said. "We have to take the error out of our game."
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