Mike Jones | USA TODAY

USA TODAY

CHARLOTTE – Christian McCaffrey has recited the words so many times that he no longer hears them.

“Be like water making its way through cracks,” the Carolina Panthers running back's favorite Bruce Lee quote goes. “Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.

“Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water,” the saying continues. “If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”

Jeremy Brevard, USA TODAY Sports

That very philosophy is central to the rise of one of the NFL's most well-rounded offensive threats in McCaffrey, the second-year pro whose 1,018 yards from scrimmage have him on pace to shatter the Panthers' single-season record.

“It has a lot to do with fluidity and being able to adapt,” McCaffrey told USA TODAY Sports. “I think when you’re running through a hole and you’re hit in certain, different ways, you have to be able to move and change and make people miss. You’ve got to be able to adapt to your environment. It all relates.”

McCaffrey has long revered Lee. His father, Ed McCaffrey, introduced him to the martial arts icon’s movies (his favorite is "Enter the Dragon") at a young age. But it wasn’t until he got older that he started studying Lee’s teachings on self-discipline, as well as body and mind control. Once he did, he found ways to relate them to football.

Various martial arts exercises help strengthen his core and improve his flexibility and reactionary skills. Numerous proverbs from Lee have fortified his mind. As a result, McCaffrey said he has “taken the next step as an NFL player.”

“He takes this very seriously,” Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly told USA TODAY Sports. “He’s very motivated. He’s very conscious of his body and the things it takes each day, each week to do well at that position. He makes sure he’s at optimal level – what he eats, the stuff he does at home to prepare. He takes a lot of pride in what he does.”

McCaffrey grew up in a house of four boys and watched his father win three Super Bowls (one with the 49ers, two with the Broncos) in 13 NFL seasons. But he said his mother, Lisa, who played soccer at Stanford, is the best athlete of the family. He equally credits her for his athletic development.

McCaffrey started playing running back at 7 years old but always saw himself as more.

“I’ve always tried to be a complete athlete and not limit myself to one position or one sport,” he said. “It really helped mold my whole football game.”

That mentality also paved the way for McCaffrey to become one of the most prolific college football players of all time (he holds the single-season record for all-purpose yardage). Now his multifaceted skills have carried over to the NFL, where this season he has 579 rushing yards, 439 receiving yards and eight total touchdowns.

“All the guys I’ve been fortunate to be with, I always say, each has his own special skill set that sets them apart," Panthers offensive coordinator Norv Turner told USA TODAY Sports, "but Christian's versatility is as good as anyone I've been around.

"He’s got the ability to be an inside runner, outside runner, run routes in the passing game, do all those types of things. He’s been really impressive."

McCaffrey grew up watching Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith and LaDainian Tomlinson, so he was excited to learn the Panthers had hired Turner, who worked with both backs. Turner said in the early going, the young ball carrier had a list of questions about his plans for him.

“He’s just a competitive guy,” Turner said. “He was feeling me out because he wanted to make sure that he had the opportunities to do the things he thinks he can do well.”

Turner and the Panthers have given McCaffrey those opportunities, and he's rewarded them in kind. McCaffrey has teamed with quarterback Cam Newton to give the team the third-best rushing attack in the league (138.4 yards per game). He serves as Newton's favorite pass-catcher (his 54 catches and 63 targets both lead the team) and leads an offense that ranks ninth in scoring (26.8 points per game).

McCaffrey still gets overlooked in the discussion of the best all-around backs, but he has learned to disregard public opinions.

Leading up to the draft, where Carolina drafted him eighth overall, McCaffrey faced questions about his ability to play running back in the NFL, with many suggesting a switch to slot receiver.

Now, he trains himself to guard against other forms of disrespect.

“I will catch myself. It’ll rub me the wrong way sometimes for sure,” he said. “But I don’t play though for recognition. I play because I love the game and play for my teammates. I don’t let any of that affect me.”

But how?

“Trial and error,” he said. “A lot of late nights thinking about this and that and catching myself. You can never satisfy other people, I learned. End of the day, it’s extremely important that you know yourself better than anybody else, and if you can do that, it doesn’t matter what anybody thinks about you, good or bad.”

McCaffrey said he doesn’t need to use others' slights as extra fuel.

“I have a lot of my own motivations," he said. I never play to prove anyone wrong. I always try to prove myself right.”

Whether consciously or not, McCaffrey summed up another one of Bruce Lee’s sayings.

“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations,” the saying goes, “and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.”

McCaffrey already is living up to his own standards, and certainly to those of the Panthers.

Follow Mike Jones on Twitter @ByMikeJones.

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