In July of last year, Stanford running back Tyler Gaffney announced that he would be leaving the Cardinal football team early to pursue a chance at playing professional baseball. Gaffney, a two-sport athlete at Stanford, was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 24th round.
Seven months later, however, Gaffney is back on The Farm. Per a release from the university, Gaffney will rejoin the program on April 1.
“This is the ideal time for me to return to the Farm and complete the work toward my degree from Stanford University,” said Gaffney in a statement. “As a freshman at Stanford in 2009, I had three goals: play Football and Baseball at Stanford and receive my degree. Two of the three have been accomplished; I eagerly look forward to completing the third.
“Additionally, I intend to rejoin my Cardinal football family and play my senior year of college eligibility. As I have grown and matured over the past year, I have come to realize how much I missed my football family at Stanford and how much I missed the game of football.”
Gaffney will have one year of eligibility remaining, but could compete for a starting job with the departure of Stepfan Taylor. Gaffney was a solid No. 2 back behind Taylor, so his addition is a huge plus for the Cardinal’s running game.
“I’m very proud of Tyler Gaffney making the decision to come back and finish his degree, while also rejoining the football team,” said coach David Shaw. “Tyler’s first three years at Stanford, he contributed to a lot of big games and a lot of big wins. He will join a talented and diverse group of running backs, which as a unit we believe is as good as any in the nation.”
In 35 career games, Gaffney has totaled 815 yards and 12 touchdowns.
