NEW YORK — After landing at LaGuardia Airport, the Heisman Trophy finalists sat in 90 minutes of traffic. But that wasn’t going to take the smile off Christian McCaffery’s face.
The former Valor Christian standout has a good chance to come away with college football’s top individual honor. A darn good chance.
But that’s not what has a smile constantly plastered across McCaffery’s face. He’s smiling because he’s enjoying every second of this experience. And why wouldn’t he? He’s had fun making opposing defenses look silly all season long, and now he gets an all-expense trip to one of the greatest cities on the planet in recognition of that.
Stanford and former Valor Christian running back Christian McCaffrey talks with the media in New York Friday. More photos. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
“It’s unbelievable,” McCaffrey said of New York City. “I’ve never seen so many high buildings in my life. I think the airport was nine miles away, but we sat in an hour-and-a-half of traffic, but you don’t even realize it’s an hour-and-a-half because you’re just people watching and looking at all the cool things.”
For a day, Ed McCaffery’s second-oldest son can take all the time they want to observe everything that the Big Apple has to offer. Because when Saturday night rolls around, all eyes will be on him, as well as Alabama running back Derrick Henry and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson.
But when taking a look at the numbers, McCaffrey has to be the favorite.
Right?
After all, when the regular season was all said and done, he had amassed 35 football fields worth of yardage, a number matched by no one.
“The game happens so fast and you don’t realize what’s going on until after,” he said. “You play Saturday, get your body right on Sunday and then you’re back at it Monday, so you don’t have a lot of time to recap until it kind of starts winding down. So it’s hit me a little bit, but all the yards I got, that’s not all me. It definitely takes 10 other guys on the field, doing their job to make my job easy.”
But it’s not the 10 other guys that get to pose with the Heisman Trophy while overlooking Times Square. And as he wanders back in from the patio at the New York Marriott Marquis, his parents are waiting for him.
McCaffrey smoothly gives his dad a fist bump rather than a hug. The gesture is simple, but meaningful. This is McCaffrey’s moment to seize.
As deserving as all three players might be of the award, McCaffrey is a competitor. That’s easy to see from the way he plays on the field. So naturally it will transition into this week and this moment that could be the defining point of his young college football career.
“It’s so surreal and there’s so much and this week is so hectic,” McCaffrey said. “I’m just trying to enjoy it and relish the moment. If (I were to win) it’ll be an emotional moment for me, that’s for sure.”
More photos. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)