Christian McCaffrey will leave Stanford before Sun Bowl to prepare for NFL Draft

We have already seen the last of running back Christian McCaffrey in a Stanford uniform. Almost two weeks after declaring for the 2017 NFL Draft, the junior announced that he would not play in the Sun Bowl against North Carolina on Dec. 30.

For two full seasons, McCaffrey dazzled us as a record-setting running back at Stanford with all-purpose marks that will last a long time. Wednesday, he announced that this season will be his last in a letter to Stanford fans.

When we played Rice, I thought it might be my last game at Stanford Stadium. After the locker room cleared out and the field was empty, I stepped out to the Block S at midfield and stood there a while.

I walked to the north end zone and grabbed some turf, just to feel it one last time. I turned back and walked to the south end zone, knelt down and prayed.

I took in the moment without anyone there, and reflected on my teammates and all the great times we shared together on that field. I appreciated how far I’ve come, and how far this program has come.

McCaffrey etched his name in college football’s record books by breaking Barry Sanders’ 27-year-old all-purpose yardage record with 3,864 in 2015.

He ran back kicks.

He just plain ran.

And he caught passes, too.

In short: he did it all.

He racked up the record before the 2016 Rose Bowl, and although he missed out on the Heisman, he still went out and tallied up 368 more yards against Iowa. After the game that one guy wouldn’t let us forget about who should have really held up the stiff-arming trophy, though.

He got off to a slow start in 2016, but as Stanford improved, McCaffrey recovered from injury and regained something near last season’s form. Through the end of the regular season, McCaffrey still finished with the most all-purpose yards (2,327).

And his talents reach much farther than just the football field, too.

Stanford will now have to replace one of the most talented players in school history. Our Dan Kadar may not have him in the first round of his latest mock draft, but there’s no doubt the Cardinal will miss the versatile playmaker.