STANFORD, Calif. - Junior running back and communication major Christian McCaffrey was named the 2016 Academic All-American of the Year by the College of Sports Information Directors of America on Thursday.
McCaffrey joins Tommy Vardell (1991) and Andrew Luck (2011) as the only Cardinal to earn the nation's top academic honor. A first-team selection last year, McCaffrey is the sixth Stanford player to earn multiple Academic All-America accolades and first since Justin Armour in 1993 and 1994.
McCaffrey was a National Football Foundation High School National Scholar-Athlete finalist in 2013. The Castle Rock, Colorado, native was also recently named Pac-12 All-Academic for the second straight season, earning first-team honors on Wednesday.
McCaffrey leads the nation with 211.6 all-purpose yards/game and ranks fourth nationally with 145.7 rushing yards/game. His 2,327 all-purpose yards rank second in Stanford history, only bested by his NCAA record of 3,864 last season. Despite missing six quarters this season, his 1,603 rushing yards are tops in the Pac-12 and fourth-most in a single season in school history.
McCaffrey's father, Ed, was an Academic All-America first team choice with the Cardinal in 1990.