[Hank 91]

Not surprisingly, there was a LOT of conversation about Love's absence among the writers who were there. I think it's okay for Dodd to be disappointed, but everything else in his article is ridiculous. I was certainly disappointed, as it would've been great to talk to him, if only to compare where he was a year ago, when all he did was answer questions about replacing Christian McCaffrey.

But here's what I know. I messaged Alan George, the SID, about a month ago to ask which players would be there. His response then was "It looks like Love and Holder." When I applied for my credential for the event about two weeks ago, I'm almost certain I saw Love's name on the list of players attending, and at least one other writer yesterday seemed to remember the same thing. So I don't think this was something that was premeditated. As people -- and by this I mean Stanford beat writers and those close to the program -- were trying to figure out what had happened, we actually spoke to someone from Stanford who confirmed some of the rumors. Love had already used his one excused absence for the summer, so he wasn't able to miss class.

I have no reason to believe that this isn't completely genuine. The players always enjoy this event. Obviously, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and Alijah Holder had time to eat their lunches, check their phones, have conversations with other players, and joke with a couple of writers, but that wouldn't have been true for Love. Even so, I'm sure he'd have come if he had been able to. As a pseudo-writer, I was disappointed not to get the chance to talk to him, but as an alum, I'm incredibly proud that he continues to prioritize academics. (And the silver lining was that I got to talk to J.J., which was lots of fun.)

[Hank 91]

Not surprisingly, there was a LOT of conversation about Love's absence among the writers who were there. I think it's okay for Dodd to be disappointed, but everything else in his article is ridiculous. I was certainly disappointed, as it would've been great to talk to him, if only to compare where he was a year ago, when all he did was answer questions about replacing Christian McCaffrey.

But here's what I know. I messaged Alan George, the SID, about a month ago to ask which players would be there. His response then was "It looks like Love and Holder." When I applied for my credential for the event about two weeks ago, I'm almost certain I saw Love's name on the list of players attending, and at least one other writer yesterday seemed to remember the same thing. So I don't think this was something that was premeditated. As people -- and by this I mean Stanford beat writers and those close to the program -- were trying to figure out what had happened, we actually spoke to someone from Stanford who confirmed some of the rumors. Love had already used his one excused absence for the summer, so he wasn't able to miss class.

I have no reason to believe that this isn't completely genuine. The players always enjoy this event. Obviously, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and Alijah Holder had time to eat their lunches, check their phones, have conversations with other players, and joke with a couple of writers, but that wouldn't have been true for Love. Even so, I'm sure he'd have come if he had been able to. As a pseudo-writer, I was disappointed not to get the chance to talk to him, but as an alum, I'm incredibly proud that he continues to prioritize academics. (And the silver lining was that I got to talk to J.J., which was lots of fun.)